I LIBRARY OF CONGRES S, \\ 



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JUNITED STATES OF AMERICA,! 



Livingstone in Africa: 



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USl.lr 



Explorations and Missionary Labors. 



REV. S. A. W. JEWETT. 



With Illustrations. 




. CINCINNATI: 
HITCHCOCK & WA'LDEN 

NEW YORK: 
CARLTON & LANAHANr 



} 



3> 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by 
HITCHCOCK & WALDEN, 



In (he Clerk's Office of the D" -trict Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of Ohio. 



Prefatory Note. 



r T , HE pretensions of this little volume are not 
-■- at all ambitious. Its aim is simply to re- 
cite the missionary travels of Rev. David Living- 
stone, LL. D., accomplished in South Africa, 
between the years 1840 and 1856, in smaller 
compass than the large narrative written by 
himself. The task was entered upon in the hope 
of bringing the noble work of that eminent 
Christian philanthropist to the attention of a 
class of readers who, for various reasons, may 
pass by the larger volume. All the material 
facts and incidents essential to a just idea of the 
country, the habits and character of the people, 
and the hardships and toil of the great traveler 
will be found here. In describing the same 
events and objects, similarity of language must 



4 PREFA TOR Y NO TE. 

often occur. But where that may most appear, 
complete reconstruction of style has been found 
necessary in order to secure uniformity and 
brevity. 

S. A. W. J. 
Chicago, February 20, 1868. 



Contents. 



chapter I. 

Page. 
Boyhood of the Missionary Traveler — The Bakwains — A 

Fight with a Lion — Sechele, the Chief— The Rainmak- 
ers — The Hopo — Slavery in Africa, 9 

CHAPTER II. 

A Glimpse of Missionary Life — Story of the Black Pot — 
Eating Frogs — Travel in the Desert — Water Suckers, . 39 

CHAPTER III. 

Mirage in the Desert — Discovery of Lake Ngami — The 
Tsetse— Sebituane— Death of the Great Chieftain— Dis- 
covery of the Zambezi, 68 

CHAPTER IV. 

A Long Journey Begun — Attack of the Bakwains by the 
Boers — Plundering of the Missionary's House — Se- 
chele — Hot Wind of the Desert — The Ostrich — Mowana 

5 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Trees — The Lion — Encounter between Three Lions and 

a Buffalo, ' q6 



CHAPTER V. 

A Curious Bird's-Nest — Crossing the River Chobe — Re- 
ception at Linyanti — Journeying with a Chief— A Fleet 
of Canoes — The River Leeambye — Summary Punish- 
ment of Treason — Return to Linyanti, 121 

CHAPTER VI. 

A Picho — Voyaging on the River — Alligators and their 
Eggs — A Female Chief— Grand Reception 1 — A Magic 
Lantern at Court, 145 

CHAPTER VII. 

A Princely Gift — Manioc — Superstition of the Natives — 
Katema — Birds — Spiders — Ants — Swimming a River — 
Prospect of a Fight, 177 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Livingstone at Cassange — A Colored Militia Corporal — On 
to Loanda — Incidents Here — Insect Distillers 205 

CHAPTER IX. 

An Alligator with a Slave Boy — A Native Diviner — An 
African Wake — Beauty of Scenery and Climate — A 



CONTENTS. 7 

Page. 
Blow on the Beard — The Kasendi — Hostile Natives — 
Encounter with a Buffalo — Return to Linyanti, . . . 235 



CHAPTER X. 

A New Journey Begun — Falls of Victoria — Elephant Hunt- 
ing — Man Tossed by a Buffalo — Arrival at Killimane — 
Embarking for England — Insanity of Sekwebu, . . . 267 



Illustrations. 



Spearing the Hippopotamus, Frontispiece. 

The Missionary's Escape from the Lion 20 

Warrior and Wife, ........ 63 

Native Houses, .88 

African Girls, 125 

Children's Games, 165 

Njambi at Home, 195 

Tattooing and Hair-Dressing, 228 

Among the Monkeys, . 266 



Livingstone in Africa. 



CHAPTER I. 

Boyhood of the Missionary Traveler — The Bakwains— 
A Fight with a Lion — Sechele, the Chief— The Rain- 
makers — The Hopo — Slavery in Africa. 

BEFORE entering directly upon our pleasant 
task, let us glance a moment at the boy- 
hood of that noble man whose footsteps we pro- 
pose to trace across the African continent. That 
glance, though it be a brief one, will no doubt 
inspire us with respect and love for him ; and 
perhaps awaken in our minds a deeper sympathy 
with his life, of unselfish toil. 

His early home was in a little manufacturing 
village near Glasgow, Scotland. His father was 
a small tea-dealer — a man of devoted and con- 
sistent piety. Though he never became rich, 
yet, "by his kindliness of manner and winning 
ways, he made the heart-strings of his children 



IO LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

twine around him as firmly as if he had pos- 
sessed, and could have bestowed upon them every 
worldly advantage." These words just quoted 
are from Dr. Livingstone himself, as the reader 
may have guessed. And in these which follow, 
he mentions his mother, and tells how his edu- 
cation began. 

"The earliest recollection of my mother re- 
calls a picture so often seen among the Scottish 
poor — that of the anxious housewife striving to 
make both ends meet. At the age of ten I was 
put into the factory as a 'piecer,' to aid by my 
earnings in lessening her anxiety. With a part 
of my first week's wages I purchased Ruddi- 
man's 'Rudiments of Latin,' and pursued the 
study of that language for many years afterward 
with unabated ardor, at an evening school which 
met between the hours of eight and ten. The 
dictionary part of my labors was followed up till 
twelve o'clock, or later, if my mother did not 
interfere by jumping up and snatching the books 
out of my hands. I had to be back in the fac- 
tory by six in the morning, and continue my 
work, with intervals for breakfast and dinner, till 
eight o'clock at night. I read in this way many 
of the classical authors, and knew VirgH and 
Horace better at sixteen than I do now." 

At the age of nineteen young Livingstone was 



BOYHOOD OF THE TRAVELER. II 

promoted to the work of cotton-spinning. So 
intense was his love of study that he kept it up 
in the factory amid the noise of the machinery. 
His book was placed on a part of the spinning- 
jenny, where he could catch a sentence at a time 
as he passed back and forth at his work. In this 
manner he acquired a discipline of mind which 
enabled him in after life to write with ease when 
surrounded by the songs, and dancing of sav- 
ages. And by this severe labor he gained a 
hardiness of body which fitted him to endure the 
excessive toil, and exposure of his long years of 
missionary travel. By work in the factory dur- 
ing the Summer months he provided means of 
self-support while in Winter time attending Divin- 
ity lectures, and Greek and medical classes in 
Glasgow. 

Does the life of this young man seem to any 
of my readers a hard and irksome lot ? Would 
you then like to know what he thought of it in 
his later years ? Was he ashamed of the hard 
and lowly work of his boyhood ? His own words 
shall answer. When his name had become fa- 
mous throughout the world, and the learned and 
great delighted to do him honor, he did not hide 
the fact that his education was earned by the 
labor of his own hands. He nobly said, " Look- 
ing back now on that life of toil, I can but feel 



12 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

thankful that it formed such a material part of 
my early education, and were it possible I should 
like to begin life over again in the same lowly 
style, and to pass through the same hardy train- 
ing. .... Time and travel have not ef- 
faced the feelings of respect I imbibed for the 
humble inhabitants of my native village." 

In all this earnest work young Livingstone 
had an ardent desire to fit himself for future use- 
fulness. Having become a Christian by yielding 
his heart to Christ, the glowing love to God and 
man which this new experience kindled, led him 
to form the purpose of giving his life to the 
work of planting Christianity in China. He 
hoped to gain access to the people of that vast 
empire by means of the healing art ; and with 
that object in view he set himself to the task of 
acquiring a medical education. But when he 
had finished his studies and received his diploma 
constituting him a member of the "Faculty of 
physicians and Surgeons," a new obstacle to the 
execution of his original plan arose. The opium 
war between England and China was raging, and 
this made it inexpedient to begin his fondly 
cherished enterprise. Just at this time a new 
and inviting field of labor was opened up in 
South Africa, by the labors of Rev. Robert 
Moffat, his father-in-law. There being no pros- 



SAILS FOR AFRICA. 1 3 

pect of an early peace in China, he with some 
reluctance yielded to the advice of friends, and 
offered himself to the London Missionary Society 
for their work in Africa ; and after pursuing a 
more extensive course of theological study, he 
sailed, in 1840, for the African continent, under 
the auspices of that society. A voyage of three 
months brought him to Cape Town. Here he 
spent but a short time, and then sailing along 
the coast to Algoa Bay, he started at once for 
the interior. 

A look at the map of South Africa will refresh 
the mind of the reader as to the locality of 
these places, and help him to form a better and 
more vivid conception of that vast field of labor 
where our missionary traveler and his family spent 
sixteen years of toil and exposure among savage 
men — that he might teach them the "glorious 
Gospel of Christ," and prepare the way for the 
introduction of a Christian civilization to all that 
immense country. The journey from Algoa Bay 
northward to Kuruman or Lattakoo — a distance 
of seven hundred miles — was made in wagons 
drawn by oxen. This place is a central mission 
station for the surrounding country. Resting 
here only long enough to recruit the tired oxen, 
Livingstone proceeded still farther north, in com- 
pany with another missionary, to the country of 



14 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the Bakwains. Their chief was found, with his 
people, at Shokuane. The town, or village, was 
composed of numerous circles of huts gathered 
around a large one in the center, which was that 
of the principal chief, Sechele. The government 
and constitution of these native tribes is patri- 
archal. Each man is the chief of his own chil- 
dren ; and the more numerous his family, the 
greater will be his importance in the tribe. 
Hence, children are always treated kindly, and 
are thought the greatest of blessings. As they 
grow up the children build their huts in a circle 
around that of their father. Near the center of 
the circle there is a fireplace ; and this, with a 
little space close around it, is called a " Kotla." 
Here the families eat and work, and at the even- 
ing hour sit together around the fireplace and 
talk over the news of the clay. Sometimes a 
poor man joins the Kotla of a rich one, and so 
becomes his child. The huts in the circle imme- 
diately around the Kotla of the chief are occu- 
pied by his wives and blood relations. Around 
those of each Under chief there are a number of 
Kotlas with their circles. And the whole collec- 
tion of circles gathered around the Kotla of the 
principal chief constitutes the town. 

There are several Bechuana tribes. Each one 
of them is named for some animal. And each 



AFRICAN TRIBES. 1 5 

tribe has a superstitious fear of the animal for 
which it is named ; and the flesh of that animal 
they never eat. The name Bechuana, or Bak- 
wain, means " They of the alligator ;" Bakatla, 
" They of the monkey ;" Batlapi, " They of the 
fish." This custom of using the personal pro- 
noun in the names of tribes prevails very exten- 
sively in Africa. They use the word "bina" in 
connection with this manner of naming them- 
selves. Thus, if you want to know what tribe 
one belongs to, you ask, " What do you dance ?" 
He replies, " The alligator," " The monkey," or, 
" The fish." These singular customs have been 
thought an indication that in earlier times they 
practiced the worship of animals, like the ancient 
Egyptians, and that dancing formed a part of 
that old worship. 

Livingstone attached himself to the tribe of 
the Bakwains ; and after a few months spent in 
journeys and preparation — during which time he 
returned once to Kuruman — he began a settle- 
ment at Lepelole, about fifteen miles south of 
Shokuane. He dug a canal to conduct water to 
the gardens from a full and flowing river, which 
afterward became dry. While here he excluded 
himself from all society, except that of the 
natives, for the purpose of acquiring more per- 
fect knowledge of their habits of thinking, their 



1 6 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

customs, laws, and language. This proved of 
very great advantage to him in his subsequent 
intercourse with them. 

After getting the arrangements for the settle- 
ment well advanced, he made a journey north- 
ward to the Bakao Mountains, accompanied by 
several natives. These mountains had been vis- 
ited before, by a trader, who perished with his 
whole party. In passing around the northern 
part of these basaltic hills, near Letloche, Living- 
stone was within ten days' journey of the Zonga, 
which flows into Lake Ngami — pronounced In- 
gami, the initial I soft as possible. 

Had discovery been his chief object, he might 
have discovered the lake at this time — 1842. 
The oxen being sick, much of this journey had to 
be performed on foot. The natives did not know 
that Livingstone understood their language, and 
he one day overheard them talking of his appear- 
ance and power of enduring fatigue. " He is not 
strong," they said. " He is quite slim, and only 
seems stout because he puts himself into those 
bags" — meaning his pantaloons — "he will soon 
give out." This stirred the Highland blood of 
our traveler so that he kept them at the top of 
their speed for several days, till he heard them 
express better opinions of his power as a pedes- 
trian. 



JOURNEYS. 17 

Returning to Kuruman for the purpose of re- 
moving his luggage to the proposed settlement, 
Livingstone was followed with the discouraging 
news that his friends the Bakwains had been 
driven from that part of the country by the Baro- 
longs. One of those outbreaks of war for the 
possession of cattle, which occur from time to 
time among these tribes, had burst forth, and de- 
stroyed all prospect of establishing a mission sta- 
tion at Lepelole, or Litubaruba, for the present. 
This made it necessary to look up some new 
locality. 

But another matter first demanded attention. 
Some of the Bamangwato people having accom- 
panied our missionary on his late return from the 
North, he was obliged to make a journey to the 
residence of their chief, Sekomi, to restore them 
and their goods to him. On this journey he for 
the first time mounted an ox, and rode several 
hundred miles in that manner. Upon his return 
the beautiful valley of Mabotsa was selected for 
the missionary station. And to this place he re- 
moved in 1843. 

While living here he had an encounter with a 
lion, in which he was handled rather roughly, 
although he came off the conqueror at last. The 
people of the village — the Bakatla — were greatly 
troubled by the lions, which leaped into their 



1 8 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

cattle pens and destroyed their cows. The herds 
were, too, sometimes attacked in open day. This 
being quite unusual, the people believed them- 
selves bewitched. They were given, they said, 
"into the power of the lions by a neighboring 
tribe." Such are the habits of this animal, that 
if one from a troop of lions is killed his com- 
rades profit by the hint, and quit, for a time, that 
part of the country. The people of the village 
went out once to attack the animals, but being 
cowardly, they came back without killing one. 
So when the herds were next attacked Living- 
stone went out with the men to inspire them 
with courage, and aid them in getting rid of the 
annoyance. The rest of the story he shall give 
you in his own words. 

"We found the lions on a small hill, about a 
quarter of a mile in length, and covered with 
trees. A circle of men was formed round it, and 
they gradually closed up, ascending pretty near 
tt> each other. Being down below, on the plain, 
with a native schoolmaster named Mebalwe, a 
most excellent man, I saw one of the lions sitting 
on a piece of rock within the now closed circle 
of men. Mebalwe fired at him before I could, 
and the ball struck the rock on which the ani- 
mal was sitting. He bit at the spot struck, as a 
dog does at a stick or stone thrown at him ; 



LION HUNTING. 19 

then leaping away, broke through the opening 
circle and escaped unhurt. The men were afraid 
to attack him, perhaps on account of their belief 
in witchcraft. When the circle was re-formed, we 
saw two other lions in it, but we were afraid to 
fire, lest we should strike the men, and they 
allowed the beasts to burst through also. If the 
Bakatla had acted according to the custom of 
the country, they would have speared the lions in 
their attempt to get out. Seeing we could not 
get them to kill one of the lions, we bent our 
footsteps toward the village. In going round the 
end of the hill, however, I saw one of the beasts 
sitting on a piece of rock as before, but„this time 
he had a little bush .in front. 

" Being about thirty yards off, I took a good 
aim at his body through the bush, and fired both 
barrels into it. The men then called out, ' He 
is shot, he is shot' Others cried, ' He has 
been shot by another man, too ; let us go to him !' 
I did not see any one else shoot at him, but I 
saw the lion's tail erected in anger behind the 
bush, and turning to the people, said, ' Stop a 
little till I load again.' When in the act of ram- 
ming down the bullets I heard a shout. Starting 
and looking half round, I saw the lion just in the 
act of springing upon me. I was upon a little 
hight. He caught my shoulder as he sprang, 



20 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

/ 
and we both came to the ground below together. 
Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me 
as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced 
a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by 
a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It 
caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was 
no sense of pain, nor feeling of terror, though 
quite conscious of all that was happening. It 
was like what patients partially under the influ- 
ence of chloroform describe, who see all the op- 
eration, but feel not the knife. 

" This singular condition was not the result of 
any mental process. The shake annihilated fear, 
and allowed no sense of horror in looking round 
at the beast. This peculiar state is probably 
produced in all animals killed by the carnivora ; 
and if so, is a merciful provision by our benevo- 
lent Creator for lessening the pain of death. 
Turning round to relieve myself of the weight, as 
he had one paw on the back of my head, I saw 
his eyes directed to Mebalwe, who was trying to 
shoot him at a distance of ten or fifteen yards. 
His gun, a flint one, missed fire in both barrels. 
The lion immediately left me, and attacking Me- 
balwe, bit his thigh. Another man, whose life I 
had saved before, after he had been tossed by a 
buffalo, attempted to spear the lion while he was 
biting Mebalwe. He left Mebalwe and caught 



FIGHT WITH A LION. 2 1 

this man by the shoulder, but at that moment the 
bullets he had received took effect, and he fell 
down dead. The whole was the work of a few 
moments, and must have been his paroxysms of 
dying rage." 

Livingstone's victory over the king of beasts 
was rather dearly bought. He came out of the 
fight with the bone of his arm crushed to splin- 
ters by the jaws of the lion, and eleven flesh 
wounds from his teeth in the upper part of it. 
The Bakatla declared him the largest lion they 
had ever seen ; and the next day they built a 
huge bonfire over the carcass to take the charm 
of witchcraft out of him. 

'The wound inflicted by the lion's tooth is 
much like that caused by a gunshot. It is 
usually followed by much discharge, and slough- 
ing off of the flesh ; and it is a curious fact that 
ever afterward pains are felt in the wounded part 
on the return of the same period of the year. 
Mebalwe suffered in this way from the bite in 
his thigh ; and the wound of the man who was 
bitten in the shoulder actually burst forth afresh 
on the same month of the following year. But 
fortunately our hero-missionary fared better than 
his comrades. He wore in the affray a tartan 
jacket ; and the woolen through which the teeth 
passed in piercing his flesh seems to have wiped 



22 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the virus from them. And thus he escaped with 
only the inconvenience of a false joint in his 
limb. 

Before going any further in our travels, let me 
give my readers a brief sketch of the history and 
character of Sechele, the chief of the Bakwains, 
with whom our missionary lived for several 
years. By Doctor Livingstone's account of him 
he was a remarkable man, and very intelligent. 
His great-grandfather, Mochoasele, was a great 
traveler, and was the first who told the Bakwains 
of the existence of white men. In the lifetime 
of Sechele's father two white travelers passed 
through the country of this tribe, and descend- 
ing the river Limpopo, they, with all their party, 
died of fever. These travelers are supposed to 
have been Doctor Cowan and Captain Donovan, 
who were in Africa in 1808, and were reported 
to have been killed by the Bangwaketse. This 
statement was given to Livingstone by a son of 
the chief at whose village they died. He said 
he remembered when a boy having eaten part of 
one of their horses, which tasted like the flesh 
of a zebra. 

When Sechele was only a boy, his father, who 
was also named Mochoasele, was killed by his 
own people, in punishment for taking to himself 
the wives of some of his rich under chiefs. The 



THE BAKWAIN CHIEF. 23 

children of the murdered chief were spared ; and 
their friends soon sought the aid of Sebituane, 
the chief of the Makalolo, to restore them to 
their rights in the chieftainship. Sebituane, with 
his people, surrounded the town of the Bakwains 
by night ; and when the day began to dawn his 
herald proclaimed in a loud voice that he had 
come to revenge the death of Mochoasele. This 
was followed by a terrific noise, caused by Sebit- 
uane's men beating loudly upon their shields all 
around the town. The panic-stricken Bakwains 
rushed from their huts like a crowd from a burn- 
ing theater, while their enemies used their jave- 
lins upon them with great dexterity and effect. ' 

Orders had been given the men by Sebituane 
to spare the sons of the chief; -but Sechele being 
met by one of them, received a blow from a club 
on the head, which made him insensible. The 
attack ended in the death of the usurper, and the 
establishment of Sechele in the chieftainship ; 
and he became warmly attached to Sebituane, 
who had so befriended him in his adversity. 

It is the custom with these African tribes for 
the chief to bind his under chiefs to himself and 
his government by marrying their daughters. So 
Sechele married the daughters of three of his 
under chiefs. They are all very fond of being 
known as relatives of some great man. If, when 



24 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

traveling, you meet a party of strangers, and the 
relationship of the head man is not at once pro- 
claimed by his attendants, you hear him whisper, 
" Tell him who I am ;" and after counting a part 
of his genealogical tree on their fingers, the per- 
formance closes with - the important statement 
that the head man of the party is half-cousin to 
some noted chief. 

On the occasion when Livingstone made his 
first attempt to hold a public religious service 
among the Bakwains, Sechele remarked that it 
was the custom of his nation when any new sub- 
ject was brought before them to ask questions 
upon it, and he begged permission to do so in 
this case. Our missionary having expressed his 
readiness to answer questions, Sechele asked him 
if his forefathers knew of a future judgment. 
He was answered in the affirmative, and a de- 
scription given him, from the Bible, of the " great 
white throne, and Him who shall sit on it, from 
whose face the heaven and earth shall flee away," 
wflen he said, " You startle me ; these words 
make all my bones to shake — I have no strength 
in me. But my forefathers were living at the 
same time yours were, and how is it that they 
did not send them word about these terrible 
things sooner ? They all passed away into dark- 
ness without knowing whither they were going." 



MISSIONARY LABORS. 2$ 

This difficulty was met by explaining the gradual 
spread of knowledge from the South, by the 
means of ships, and the want of access from the 
North in former times. 

Soon as the opportunity was given him, Sechele 
applied himself with great diligence to the task 
of learning to read. He learned the alphabet on 
the first day, and gave up his hunting, of which 
he was very fond, that he might give more time 
to study. Having acquired the art of reading, 
he was fond of showing his accomplishment, and 
pressed Doctor Livingstone, whenever he came 
into the town, to hear him read from the Bible. 
Among the writers of the inspired Volume Isaiah 
was his particular favorite. He used to say, " He 
was a fine man, that Isaiah ; he knew how to 
speak." 

One day, upon seeing the anxiety of our mis- 
sionary that his people should believe the words 
of Jesus, he said, " Do you imagine these people 
will ever believe by your merely talking to them ? 
I can make them do nothing except by thrashing 
them ; and if you like I shall call my head men, 
and with our litupa — whips of rhinoceros hide — 
we will soon make them all believe together." 
He would not condescend to ask the opinion of 
his subjects on any other matter, and he was sur- 
prised that the missionary should be content 



26 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

with merely persuading them to become Chris- 
tians. Having himself embraced Christianity, 
and hoping to induce others to do so, he asked 
Livingstone to begin family worship with him 
in his house. He then conducted it himself, 
and being a master of his own language, it was 
a pleasant surprise to the missionary to hear in 
how simple and beautiful a style he offered prayer. 
He felt keenly the difficulties in which his 
heathen practices involved him. By his study 
of the Bible he found that Christianity forbids 
polygamy ; and he could not get rid of his super- 
fluous wives without seeming to be ungrateful to 
their parents and families, who had stood by him 
and helped him in the adversity of his early life. 
He often said to our missionary, " O, I wish you 
nad come to this country before I became en- 
tangled in the meshes of our customs." 

Seeing the difficulty of the case, and feeling- 
compassion for the women, Livingstone did not 
wish him to be in haste to make a full and public 
profession of Christianity by baptism, and by 
putting away all but one of his wives. Some of 
them, too, were among the best scholars in the 
mission school, and his principal wife seemed less 
likely than almost any other person in the tribe 
to become any thing else than a greasy disciple 
of heathenism. Again and again was Sechele 



A HEATHEN CONVERT. 2J 

compelled to send her out of Church to put on her 
gown ; and out she would go, with her pouting 
lips and whole manner expressing her deep dis- 
gust at his new-fangled notions. She did, how- 
ever, very greatly improve afterward. When, after 
a consistent profession of about three years, he 
applied for baptism, Livingstone asked him how, 
having the Bible in his hand, and able to read it, 
he himself thought he ought to act. He at once 
went home, gave each of his extra wives new 
clothing, and the goods they had been keeping 
for him in their huts, and sent them to their par- 
ents with the statement that he found no fault 
with them, but parted with them that he might 
obey God. 

Large numbers came to witness the ceremony 
when he and his children were baptized. A stu- 
pid story had been told by the enemies of Chris- 
tianity that the converts were required to drink 
an infusion of "dead men's brains." Some be- 
lieved it, and were surprised that only water was 
used in the baptismal service. Some of the old 
men wept to see their father — as they called the 
chief — so bewitched by the white man. And 
now our missionary had to meet a new opposi- 
tion. Though himself and family were still 
treated with respectful kindness, yet all the 
friends of the divorced wives became enemies of 



28 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

religion. They talked to Sechele in a manner 
which, before his conversion, would have cost them 
their lives. The Church and school were forsaken 
by nearly all except the chief and his family. 

The protracted and distressing droughts which 
they suffered about this time had something to 
do with this opposition ; for the Bakwains thought 
the destitution of rain was in some way con- 
nected with the presence among them of " God's 
word," and the Christian teacher. They had 
been visited the first year that' Livingstone set- 
tled among them, at Chonuane, with one of those 
severe droughts which occasionally occur in the 
most favored districts of Africa. By his advice 
the tribe removed forty miles distant, to the river 
Kolobeng. 

Here our missionary erected the third house, 
which he built with his own hands. In exchange 
for his labor in aiding them to build a square 
house for their chief, the men of the tribe built a 
dam across the river, and made a canal to water 
the fields and gardens. The plan worked finely 
the first year ; but in the two following years not 
ten inches of rain fell, and the river ran dry. All 
the hyenas of the country, far and near, were 
unable to devour the multitude of fish which 
were killed. A huge old alligator, who had 
proved a harmless neighbor, was left high and 



LONG DROUGHT. 



2 9 



dry in the mud. The drought continued the 
fourth year — very little rain falling. Needles 
lying for months out of doors did not rust. The 
leaves of native trees were shriveled. To keep 
the fruit trees alive they dug wells in the bed 
of the river, going deeper and deeper as the 
water receded. But all in vain. So intense 
was the heat that a thermometer, placed with 
its bulb three inches below the surface of the 
ground, showed the mercury standing at 132 . 
A certain kind of beetles, placed on the surface 
of the ground, ran about only a few minutes, and 
died from the burning heat. But the long-legged 
black ants were as lively and active as ever. 
Speaking of their tireless activity, Livingstone 
says : " Their organs of motion seem endowed 
with the same power which is ascribed by physi- 
ologists to the muscles of the human heart, by 
which that part of the frame never becomes 
fatigued, and which may be imparted to all our 
bodily organs in that higher sphere to which we 
fondly hope to rise." These tiny creatures seem' 
to have some mysterious power of gathering 
moisture. In the midst of all this drought and 
heat, their little chambers were always moist. 

This was found to be the case even in the 
house which was built upon a rock, many hund- 
red feet above the bed of the river, where alone 



30 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

a drop of water could be found. When there 
was no dew they were able to moisten the burnt 
and dusty soil so as to make mortar for building 
the little galleries with which they hide their 
paths from the sight of birds. 

The Bakwains, like the neighboring tribes, be- 
lieve in the power of rain-making. It is, they 
think, a gift with which their rain-doctors are 
endowed. In procuring rain they use medicines 
which they think act by some mysterious charm. 
All medicines, they suppose, act in this way in 
curing diseases of the human body. Their word 
for cure, alalia, means charm. The medicines of 
the rain-doctor are lions' and baboons' hearts, 
jackals' livers, with various other parts of differ- 
ent animals, plants, bulbs, and roots. When the 
rain-doctor would charm the clouds to bring rain, 
he selects some particular bulbous-root, pounds 
it, and steeps a part, making a liquid which, when 
cold, he administers to a sheep. The patient 
dies in five minutes afterward. The remaining 
part of the root is burned, and the smoke ascends 
toward the sky. In a day or two rain comes, 
and all the people praise the skill of the rain- 
doctor and the power of his medicines. Sechele 
had been a famous rain-doctor, and during this 
long drought of which we have been speaking, 
the natives believed that Livingstone had bound 



THE RAIN-DOCTOR. 31 

him by some magic spell ; and deputations of the 
old men came to him and besought him just 
to allow Sechele to make a few showers, saying, 
"The corn will die if you refuse, and we shall be 
scattered. Only let him make rain this once, and 
we shall all, men, women, and children, come to 
the school and sing and pray as long as you 
please." 

An uncle of Sechele, a very sensible man, and 
one of influence in the tribe, said to our mission- 
ary at one time : " We like you as well as if you 
had been born among us ; you are the only white 
man we can become familiar with, but we wish 
you to give up that everlasting preaching and 
praying, we can not become familiar with that at 
all. You see we never get rain, while those 
tribes who never pray as we do obtain abund- 
ance." And Livingstone says, " This was a fact ; 
we often saw it raining on the hills ten miles off, 
while it would not look at us 'even with one 
eye.' If the Prince of the power of the air had 
no hand in scorching us up, I fear I often gave 
him credit for doing so." 

Still the conduct of the people was exceedingly 
good during this most trying time of drought, so 
long continued. The men engaged in hunting, 
the women sold their ornaments to buy corn 
from their more fortunate neighbors, and the 



32 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

children scoured the country to gather the nu- 
merous bulbs and roots which sustain life. 

A great number of buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, 
ramas, rhinoceroses, and other kinds of game 
gathered about some fountains near Kolobeng. 
Sixty or seventy head of this large game were 
sometimes caught in a single week in the trap 
called "hopo? This trap is made by constructing 
two hedges, so placed as to form a letter V. 
But instead of coming together at the angle, the 
hedges are made to form a narrow lane of about 
one hundred and fifty feet in length. At the end 
of this lane a pit is dug, six or eight feet deep, 
and twelve or fifteen feet square. Trees are 
placed along the sides of the pit, so as to hang 
over the edge and prevent escape. These bord- 
ers are decked with short green rushes, so as to 
conceal the pitfall. The hedges are often a mile 
long, and as far apart at the open end of the 
hopo. By making a circle of three or four miles 
Ground the country adjoining the opening, a tribe 
can hardly fail to inclose large numbers of game. 
And by closing up gradually, they are driven into 
the trap. As they reach the narrow part of 
it, men hidden in ambush throw javelins into 
the frightened animals ; and the whole herd 
rush madly forward through the lane into the 
pit. Some escape by running over the backs 



SUPPL Y OF FOOD. 3 3 

of others, but the greater number are entrapped. 
Those which are not killed by the fall or smoth- 
ered by the living mass piled above them, are 
dispatched with the spear. The scene is fright- 
ful. The men are wild with excitement, and 
spear the lovely creatures without mercy. Every 
now and then the whole mass is made to heave 
with the dying agonies of those at the bottom of 
the pit. All, both rich and poor, share the game. 
Meat thus obtained cured the bad effects of an 
exclusive vegetable diet. Salt was found a rem- 
edy for the same difficulty. The native doctors 
mixed it with their medicines when treating cases 
of that kind. But Livingstone cured the disease 
with salt alone. 

The uncertainty of food among these people 
made frequent absence from home necessary, in 
order to hunt game or gather fruits and roots. 
And this irregularity of life was found to be a 
serious obstacle in the way of their progress in 
knowledge. The experiment of missionary labor 
among them was such as to show the correctness 
of that growing sentiment among modern Chris- 
tians, which pictures the true missionary, not as a 
man going about with only a Bible in his hand, 
but as one having that sacred book in one hand 
and a loaf of bread in the other. We must feed 
healthy feelings into the starving, in order to 
3 



34 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

prepare them to listen to the Gospel which we 
preach to them. And this is true both of the 
poor at home and the heathen abroad. Upon this 
subject Livingstone says: "My observations on 
this subject make me extremely desirous to pro- 
mote the preparation of the raw materials of Euro- 
pean manufactures in Africa, for by that means we 
may not only put a stop to the slave-trade, but 
introduce the negro family into the body-corpo- 
rate of nations, no one member of which can 
suffer without the others suffering with it. Suc- 
cess in this, in both Eastern and Western Africa, 
would lead, in the course of time, to a much 
larger diffusion of the blessings of civilization 
than efforts exclusively spiritual and educational, 
confined to one small tribe. These, however, it 
would, of course, be extremely desirable to carry 
on at the same time at large central and healthy 
stations, for neither civilization nor Christianity 
can be promoted alone. In fact, they are insep- 
arable." 

Another influence adverse to the missionary 
work among the Bakwains was the nearness of 
the " Magaliesberg," or Boers of the Cashan 
Mountains. The word Boer means farmer. The 
Cape Colonists pass, sometimes, by that name. 
The Boers, generally, are a sober, industrious, 
and hospitable body of peasantry. Those here 



AFRICAN BOERS. ' 35 

spoken of are a class of men who have broken 
away from English law, mainly because it makes 
no distinction between the white and black man. 
English law emancipated their Hottentot slaves, 
and they felt themselves greatly aggrieved ; and 
to escape the authority of the British Govern- 
ment they fled toward the interior, and formed 
themselves into a republic, where, without inter- 
ference from others, they can pursue " the proper 
treatment of the blacks." This means with them 
involuntary, unpaid labor, which is the essential 
element of slavery. A part of these Boers, com- 
manded by the late Hendrick Potgeiter, pene- 
trated the interior as far as the Cashan Mount- 
ains, whence the well-known CafFre Dingaan 
had just driven out a Zulu or Caffre chief, named 
Mosilikatze. The Bechuana tribes of this part 
of the country, glad to escape the cruel sway 
of this chieftain, gave the Boers a hearty wel- 
come. They came with the prestige of white 
men and deliverers. But the poor natives soon 
found they had made a sad exchange of masters, 
for, as they said, " Mosilikatze was cruel to his 
enemies, and kind to those he conquered ; but 
the Boers destroyed their enemies, and made 
slaves of their friends." The native tribes are 
permitted to retain a semblance of freedom, but 
are forced to perform all the labor of their mas- 



36 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

ters' fields, and at the same time support them- 
selves. They build dams and canals, manure the 
land, do the weeding, reaping, and building ; and 
for it all they do not receive a farthing of wages. 
Livingstone was himself an eye-witness of 
the Boers coming to a village and demanding 
twenty or thirty women to weed their gardens ; 
and their demand was met by the women going 
to their unpaid toil, carrying their implements 
of labor on their shoulders, their own food on 
their heads, and their children on their backs. 
And from Mr. Potgeiter and Mr. Krieger, who 
are the governors, down to the lowest among the 
Boers, they make no attempt to conceal the 
meanness of using unpaid toil, but justify it, and 
praise their own humanity by saying, " We make 
the people work for us, in consideration of allow- 
ing them to live in our country." My readers 
will remember that these "people" are the na- 
tives of the country, and had it in possession 
long before the Boers saw it. But this kind of 
slavery only supplies the labor of the field ; and 
in order to provide themselves with domestic 
servants, they frequently make forays on tribes 
having plenty of cattle, to capture their children 
and steal the cattle. The method adopted is 
this : The expedition is planned in Winter time, 
when horses can be used without danger of 



SLAVE EXPEDITIONS. 37 

losing them by disease. A company of Boers, 
mounted on horseback, and well armed, compel 
some of the natives friendly to the tribe which is 
to be attacked, to go along with them. When 
they reach the village these friendly natives are 
arranged in front, to form a breastwork, or 
" shield," as they call it. The Boers then coolly 
fire over their heads, upon the doomed tribe ; and 
they, being generally without fire-arms, soon fly, 
leaving their wives, children, and cattle a prey to 
their enemies. Livingstone testifies that during 
his residence in the interior nine such forays as 
this were made, and in no instance did the Boers 
lose a drop of blood. 

The only means by which a young man in 
these tribes can rise to importance and respecta- 
bility is to obtain cattle ; hence, many of them 
leave home to procure work in Cape Colony. 
Here they build dikes and dams for the Dutch 
farmers, and are content if by working three or 
four years they can return with as many cows. 
On presenting one to the chief, they take rank as 
respectable men in the tribe. 

To prevent these laborers from going to the 
Colony, the Boers passed a law to deprive them 
of the cattle their hard toil had earned, giving in 
justification this momentous reason : " If they 
want to work, let them work for us, their mas- 



38 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

ters ;" and at the same time they boasted that in 
their case the work would not be paid for. I 
wonder if the fire of indignation does not kindle 
in the heart of my readers at the thought of such 
injustice and outrage. I think it did, a little, in 
the noble-minded Livingstone. He says, directly 
in this connection, " I can never cease to be most 
unfeignedly thankful that I was not born in a 
land of slaves. No one can understand the effect 
of the unutterable meanness of the slave-system 
on the minds of those who, but for the strange 
obliquity which prevents them from feeling the 
degradation, of not being gentlemen enough to 
pay for services rendered, would be equal in 
virtue to ourselves. Fraud becomes as natural 
to them as 'paying one's way' is to the rest of 
mankind." 

How heartily we, as Americans, ought to 
thank God that a system involving such "unut- 
terable meanness" and "degradation" has at last 
bten swept from our noble land ! But ought 
not our cheeks to tingle with indignant shame 
that the spirit of this vile system of injustice 
still lingers in some hearts and some localities 



MISSION LIFE. 39 



CHAPTER II. 

A Glimpse of Missionary Life — Story of the Black 
Pot — Eating Frogs — Travel in the Desert- -Water 
Suckers. 

IN the previous chapter we have been intro- 
duced to the native Africans, with whom 
Livingstone lived for several years. Let us now 
inquire a little after his mode of living in that 
wild country, so far from all the conveniences 
of civilization. There are no shops and stores 
ready to supply every thing you want ; there are 
no mechanics awaiting your command. So every 
thing you need for housekeeping you must man- 
ufacture yourself, from the raw material. When 
our missionary wanted bricks with which to build 
a house, he had to go to the field, chop down a 
tree, and saw out the planks for brick-molds. 
Lumber for the doors and windows he made in 
the same way. The three large houses which he 
built among the Bakwains must have cost him 
a vast amount of hard work. Every brick and. 
stick had to be placed by his own right hand ; 
for though the natives are willing to work for 



40 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

wages, yet it is a curious fact that they are 
utterly unable to place any thing square. Every 
thing they build is round. If you want to be re- 
spected by them you must have a large house. 
Livingstone, as you will remember, helped them 
to build a square house for their chief, at Kolo- 
beng. So you see, besides being a doctor and 
preacher, he was a carpenter and builder. In 
order to raise food for his family, he had also to 
be a gardener. A native smith taught him how 
to weld iron, and he was indeed a jack-of-all- 
trades. His wife, too, was of necessity maid-of- 
all-work in the house. 

The method of housekeeping differed some- 
what from that with which we are familiar. The 
bread was often baked in an extempore oven, 
made by digging out a large hole in an ant-hill, 
with a slab of stone for a door. Another method 
sometimes employed is to build a fire on a level 
piece of ground, and when the soil is thoroughly 
heated place the dough on the hot ashes, or in a 
small frying-pan ; then cover it with an inverted 
iron kettle, draw the ashes around, and build a 
little fire on the top. By mixing a little leaven 
from a former baking with the dough, and allow- 
ing it to stand an hour or two in the sun, excel- 
lent bread is made in this way. 

Our missionary's family made their own butter, 



DOMESTIC LIFE. 4 1 

candles, and soap. The independence and ro- 
mance of this mode of living very much relieves 
its hardship. Domestic comforts are the sweeter 
because springing so directly from one's own 
skill and toil, and that of the thrifty housewife. 
Take a single day as a sample of missionary 
life. The family rise early, because the morning 
is refreshing, however hot the day may be. The 
same is true of the evening. You may sit out- 
doors till midnight without fear of coughs or 
rheumatism. After family worship breakfast is 
had, between six and seven. Then the mission- 
ary opens school for all who will come — men, 
women, and children. School being over, at 
eleven he goes to his work as a gardener, smith, 
or carpenter. Sometimes he exchanges skilled 
labor with the people for unskilled work in the 
garden or elsewhere. Meanwhile the patient, 
toiling wife is employed in domestic duties. 
After dinner and an hour of rest she goes to her 
infant school, of which the young Bakwains are 
very fond, and to which they muster a hundred 
strong. Occasionally the time is given to a sew- 
ing school for girls, who like it equally well. 
Every operation in house or garden must be 
carefully superintended, and thus both the mis- 
sionary and his wife are kept constantly busy, 
from early morning till the sun sinks in the 



42 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

west. After sunset the missionary goes into 
the town, to talk with any willing to listen, upon 
general subjects or religion. On three nights 
each week, after the milking of the cows is over, 
and it has become dark, a public religious service 
is held ; and one evening a week is devoted to 
instruction on secular subjects, illustrated by pic- 
tures and specimens. 

These services were sometimes varied a little 
by attending the sick and prescribing for them, 
or by giving food and assistance to the poor and 
wretched. Following the example of their Di- 
vine Master, these benevolent disciples of Christ 
sought to gain the affections of the people by 
ministering to the wants of their bodies. They 
regarded the smallest act of kindness — even a 
friendly word or look — as no unworthy part of 
the missionary armor. They thought the good 
opinion of the most abject was worth caring for, 
when it could be secured by politeness ; since 
that opinion helps to form a reputation that may 
be used for extending the influence of the Gospel. 
" Show kind attention to the reckless opponents 
of Christianity on the bed of sickness and pain, 
and they never can become your personal ene- 
mies. Here, if any where, love begets love." 
Guided by such sentiments in his intercourse 
with the Bakwains, Livingstone acquired great 



RELIGIO US INFL UENCES. 43 

influence among them ; yet he depended entirely 
upon persuasion. He taught them both publicly 
and in private conversation that he wished them 
to follow their own sense of right and wrong, 
and not to be governed by any desire to please 
him. Such was the respect paid to his opinion, 
that in five instances it was positively known that 
his influence prevented war. 

All the natives of Africa are slow in coming 
to a decision upon religious subjects. In mat- 
ters which have not come within the range of 
their observation they are somewhat stupid, but 
in their own worldly affairs they are very shrewd 
and intelligent. Their knowledge of cattle, sheep, 
and goats, of the pasture suited to each, and of 
the varieties of soil best suited to the different 
kinds of grain, is very accurate. 

The English traders, who are sure to come 
wherever a missionary lives, sold guns and am- 
munition to the Bakwains ; and this excited so 
much alarm among the neighboring Boers that 
when the number of guns amounted to five they 
planned an expedition of several hundred men 
to capture them. Knowing that the Bakwains 
would rather fly to the desert than give up their 
fire-arms and become slaves, Livingstone went to 
the commandant, Mr. Gert Krieger, and by rep- 
resenting the evils of such an expedition, per- 



44 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

suaded him to defer it ; but in return he desired 
the missionary to act as a spy over the Bak- 
wains. He explained the impossibility of doing 
so by referring to an instance which occurred 
soon after he came to live with them, in which 
Sechele had gone with his whole force to punish 
an under chief, without his knowledge. A man 
whose name was Kake rebelled against the chief, 
and maltreated some natives who remained faith- 
ful to him. Sechele consulted Livingstone, and 
he advised mild measures ; but the messengers 
sent to Kake were taunted with the words, " He 
only pretends to wish to follow the advice of the 
teacher. Sechele is a coward — let him come and 
fight, if he dare." 

The next time the offense was repeated Sech- 
ele told Livingstone he was going to hunt ele- 
phants, and asked the loan of a black metal pot 
for cooking, as theirs of pottery are very brittle. 
He gave it, and a handful of salt, with the re- 
quest for two titbits — the proboscis and forefoot 
of the elephant. Nothing more was heard, till 
he saw the Bakwains carrying home the wounded, 
and heard some of the women uttering the loud 
wail of sorrow for the dead, while others pealed 
forth the shout of victory. Then it came out 
that Sechele had attacked and driven away the 
rebel. 



THE CHIEFTAIN SECHELE. 45 

This story told the commandant, soon grew to 
very formidable proportions among the Boers. 
The five guns of the Bakwains became five hund- 
red, and the black pot was magnified to a can- 
non, the loan of which the missionary had con- 
fessed ; and on this ground a letter was sent to 
the other missionaries in the South, demanding 
his immediate recall. The same story was told 
the Colonial Government, with grave assurance 
of its truth. These Boers, it would seem, though 
less enlightened, are not altogether unlike the 
people of our own country. Right around us 
there are people who have the faculty of magnify- 
ing a story much like that — the smallest matter 
in their hands rapidly gathers huge proportions, 
like the rolling snow-ball of the school-boys, 
which we often see; but it vanishes in the light 
of truth as that snow-ball melts away beneath a 
vernal sun. 

The Boers often sent letters to Sechele, order- 
ing him to come and surrender himself as their 
vassal, and put a stop to the English traders 
going into the country with fire-arms for sale. 
But he replied, " I was made an independent 
chief, and placed here by God, and not by you. 
I was never conquered by Mosilikatze, as those 
tribes whom you rule over, and the English are 
my friends. I get every thing I wish from them. 



46 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

I can not hinder them from going where they 
like." A little further on we shall speak of the 
discovery of Lake Ngami — pronounced Ingami, 
with the first I as soft and short as possible. 
This discovery opened up a rich country for 
trade, and the traders came in fivefold greater 
numbers than ever. 

The myth of the black pot had some good ef- 
fect, for the Boers were for several years pre- 
vented from making any foray in the direction 
of Kolobeng, by the supposition that the Bak- 
wains had artillery. 

Every man in these tribes feels bound to tell 
his chief every thing which comes to his knowl- 
edge; and when questioned by a stranger he 
makes such answer as will please the chief, or 
such as shows the utmost stupidity. It was 
owing to this custom, probably, that the story 
arose representing the Bechuanas as so stupid 
they could not count ten ; and this was about 
the very time when Sechele's father counted out 
one thousand head of cattle as a beginning of 
stock for his son. 

As the Boers were constantly questioning his 
people about the guns and the cannon, Sechele 
asked Livingstone how they ought to answer. 
He replied, "Tell the truth." Then every one, 
whenever questioned, declared there was no can- 



SUPPLIES OF FOOD. 47 

non among them ; and the Boers, judging this 
answer by what they would themselves have 
said in the same circumstances, were confirmed 
in the opinion that the Bakwains had artillery. 

At last, however, they determined to disperse 
the Bakwains, and drive out the missionaries, in 
order to prevent the traders going past Kolobeng 
to the country beyond. Their independence hav- 
ing been proclaimed by Sir George Cathcart, a 
treaty was entered into with them, which pro- 
vided that no slavery should be allowed in the 
independent territory, and which secured the free 
passage of Englishmen through the country. 

" But what about the missionaries ?" inquired 
the Boers ; when the " Commissioner " is said to 
have replied — perhaps in a joke — "You may do 
as you please with them" This remark, circu- 
lated by designing men, and generally believed 
to express the real sentiment of the Colonial 
authorities, doubtless led to the destruction of 
three mission stations soon after. 

During the long droughts at Kolobeng Living- 
stone was dependent on Kuruman for supplies 
of corn ; and at one time the family were re- 
duced to living on bran. This they ground three 
times over, to make fine meal from it. Animal 
food was found there a greater necessary of life 
than vegetarians would imagine. By right of 



48 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

chieftainship Sechele had the breast of every 
animal slaughtered by any member of the tribe, 
at home or abroad, and he very kindly sent a 
liberal share to the missionary family, during the 
whole of their stay. But these supplies were 
irregular, so that they sometimes were glad to 
accept a dish of locusts. They have a strong 
vegetable taste, the flavor varying with the 
plants on which they chance to feed. Roasted 
and pounded into meal, with a little salt, they 
are palatable. Thus prepared, they keep for 
months. Our friend the missionary says of 
them : " Boiled, they are disagreeable ; but when 
they are roasted, I should much prefer locusts to 
shrimps, though I would avoid both, if possible." 

When suffering from want of meat, the chil- 
dren of our missionary ate, and seemed to relish, 
a large kind of caterpillar which the natives gave 
them. These insects could not be unwholesome, 
for the natives devoured them in large quantities. 

These young Britons often turned Frenchmen, 
and ate with eagerness a very large frog, called 
"Matlametlo,"* which, when cooked, looks like a 
chicken. The natives suppose them to fall from 

*Tb.e Pyxicephahis adspersus of Doctor Smith. Length of 
head and body, five and a half inches ; fore legs, three inches ; 
hind legs, six inches. Width of head posteriorly, three inches ; 
of body, four and a half inches. 



JOURNEYS. 49 

the thunder-clouds, because immediately after a 
thunder-shower the pools which are filled and re- 
tain water a few days are alive with the noisy 
croakers. This occurs, too, in the dryest part of 
the desert, where an ordinary observer would find 
no sign of life. This enormous frog digs a hole 
at the root of certain bushes, and there ensconces 
himself during the months of drought. As he 
seldom comes out, a large spider takes advantage 
of the hole to weave his web across, and thus 
furnishes the owner of the dwelling with a screen 
and window gratis ; and during the thunder- 
shower, which fills the hollows,. while the Bechu- 
anas are cowering under their skin garments, 
these matlametlo rush out from their hiding- 
places, and their sudden chorus, struck up at 
once on all sides, gives the impression of their 
descent from the clouds. 

In trying to benefit the tribes living under the 
Boers of the Cashan Mountains, Livingstone 
twice made a journey of about three hundred 
miles to the east of Kolobeng. Sechele's inde- 
pendence and love of the English had made him 
very obnoxious to the Boers ; and hence, he dare 
not trust himself among them, though anxious to 
accompany our missionary on these journeys. 
In the last journey, when they parted at the river 
Marikwe, Sechele expressed his regret that he 
4 



5<D LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

could not go himself, and gave Livingstone two 
servants, with the remark, "These are to be my 
arms, to serve you." Said Livingstone, " Sup- 
pose we went North, would you come?" He 
then told the story of Sebituane's saving his life, 
and talked at length of the far-famed generosity 
of that really great man. • It was then that the 
thought of crossing the desert to Lake Ngami 
first entered the mind of our missionary traveler. 
Having formed his purpose, he began to col- 
lect all possible information about the desert. 
Sekomi, the chief of the Bamangwato, had a 
route, the knowledge of which he kept a secret, 
because the lake country abounded in ivory, and 
he obtained thence large quantities at small cost. 
Sechele, always keenly alive to his own interest, 
was anxious to get a share in that inviting field. 
He had, too, a very strong desire to visit Sebit- 
uane, in part from a wish to exhibit his new at- 
tainments in learning, but more from exalted 
ifieas of the benefits he would receive from the 
liberality of that renowned chieftain. 

At Livingstone's suggestion Sechele sent men 
to Sekomi, askmg permission to pass along his 
path. The request being accompanied with the 
present of an ox to Sekomi, his mother, who has 
great influence over him, refused, because she 
had not been propitiated. Then the most hon- 



VISITS TO LAKE NGAMI. 5 I 

orable man in the tribe, next to Sechele, was 
sent with an ox for both Sekomi and his mother ; 
and this was met with refusal. It was said, 
" The Matebele, the mortal enemies of the 
Bechuana, are in the direction of the lake, and 
should they kill the white man, we shall incur 
great blame from all his nation." 

There are among these tribes vestiges of an- 
cient partitions and lordships. When the orig- 
inal tribe broke up into Bakwains, Bamangwato, 
and Bangwaketse, the Bakwains retained the 
hereditary chieftainship. So their chief, Sechele, 
possesses certain advantages over Sekomi, the 
chief of the Bamangwato. If they were hunting 
together, Sechele's right would give him the 
heads of all game killed by Sekomi. 

Sechele's father received the chieftainship from 
an elder brother, who, becoming blind, gave it to 
him. The descendants of this man pay no trib- 
ute to Sechele; and though he is the actual 
ruler, and in every other respect supreme, yet 
Sechele calls him Kosi, or chief. The other 
tribes will not taste pumpkins of a new crop till 
the Bahurutse have "bitten it." They celebrate 
the occasion with a public ceremony, and the son 
of their chief first tastes of the new harvest. 

The Kalahari Desert lay between the Bakwain 
country and Lake Ngami. Many attempts had 



52 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

been made by the natives to reach the lake 
through the desert, but without success. This 
desert is a large tract of very fiat country, with- 
out running water, and it is very difficult to ob- 
tain enough of the precious liquid from wells to 
quench thirst. The desert is by no means desti- 
tute of vegetation or inhabitants. Vast herds of a 
certain species of antelope roam over these plains, 
and large quantities of grass grow upon them, 
with occasionally large patches of bushes, and 
even trees. The human inhabitants are Bush- 
men and Bakalahari. The soil is for the most 
part light-colored, soft sand— nearly pure silicia. 
The beds of the ancient rivers contain alluvial 
soil, which, baked by the sun, holds the rain-water 
in pools for several months of the year. A 
plant called leroshua grows here, which is a great 
blessing to the inhabitants of the desert. It is a 
small plant, with a stalk not thicker than a crow's 
quill, with linear leaves. On digging down a foot 
<tr eighteen inches a tuber is found, often large as 
the head of a young child, and when the rind is 
taken off it is found to be a mass of cellular 
tissue, filled with juice much like that of a young 
turnip ; and because of its depth beneath the soil 
it is delightfully cool and refreshing. 

There is a large number of these plants with 
tuberous roots, and there is an example of a plant 



SINGULAR PLANTS. 53 

not tuber-bearing in other circumstances becom- 
ing so here, where the tuber is necessary as a 
reservoir of moisture to preserve the life of the 
plant through the long droughts. The plant is 
one of the melon species, bearing a small, scarlet- 
colored, eatable fruit, like the cucumber. In 
other parts of the country, where long heat burns 
the soil, a plant called Mokuri is found, which de- 
posits under ground a number of tubers, some of 
which are large as a man's head. They are 
found about a yard from the stem, in a circle 
around it. The natives strike the ground with 
stones on the circumference of the circle, till by 
the difference in the sound they know the water- 
bearing tuber to be beneath. They then dig a 
foot or so, and find it. 

But the most remarkable plant of the desert is 
the kengwe, or kerne — the water-melon. When 
more than the usual quantity of rain falls, vast 
tracts of country are literally covered with these 
melons. This was the case every year, when the 
amount of rain was greater than now. Then the 
Bakwains could cross the desert, and they sent 
trading parties to the lake every year. Now, 
this abundant crop of melons occurs usually once 
in ten or eleven years. Then man rejoices in the 
rich supply of food. The elephant, true lord of 
the forest, revels in the rich pasturage afforded 



54 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

by the vast fields covered with this fruit ; and 
animals of every kind — the rhinoceros, antelope, 
lion, hyena, jackal, and mice — all enjoy and appre- 
ciate the common blessing. These melons are 
not all eatable. Some are sweet, and some bitter, 
so that the whole are called by the Boers the 
" bitter water-melon." The natives select them 
by striking them with the hatchet, and applying 
the tongue to the gashes. The sweet are quite 
wholesome, while the bitter are unhealthy food. 
Another like instance of one species of plants 
bearing both sweet and bitter fruits, is found in 
this country in the red cucumber. Melons in 
the garden may be made bitter by a few bitter 
kengwe in the vicinity. The bees convey the 
pollen from one to the other. 

Livingstone having communicated his inten- 
tion of attempting a journey to Lake Ngami, to 
Colonel Steele, aiddecahrp to the Marquis of 
Tweedale, at Madras, he made it known to two 
*)ther gentlemen, whose friendship had been 
gained during their African travel, Major Var- 
don, and Mr. Oswell. All of these gentlemen 
were very fond of African travel and discovery. 
. And the two former must have envied Mr. Oswell 
his good fortune in being able to leave India, to 
enter upon the hardships and pleasures of desert 
life. He left his high position at very consider- 



ARRANGEMENTS MADE. 55 

able pecuniary sacrifice, with no other desire than 
to extend the boundaries of geographical knowl- 
edge. Before Livingstone knew of his coming, 
he had arranged with Sechele to pay for the 
guides he furnished, by the loan of a wagon to 
bring back whatever ivory they might obtain 
from the chief at the lake. Mr. Oswell came, 
however, bringing Mr. Murray with him, and 
generously assumed the entire expenses of the 
guides. Sechele himself would gladly have ac- 
companied them, but fearing the attack of the 
Boers, Livingstone dissuaded him from the pur- 
pose, lest he might incur blame for taking the 
chief away. 

Just before the arrival ©f Oswell and Murray, 
who came the last of May, a party came to Kolo- 
beng from the lake, sent by the chief Lechula- 
tebe, to invite the missionary to visit that country. 
These people brought flaming accounts of the 
vast quantities of ivory to be found there ; which 
inspired the Bakwain guides with great eagerness 
for the success of the expedition. 

On the first of June, 1849, a fair start was 
made for the unknown region. Moving north- 
ward, through a range of tree-covered hills, to 
Shokuane, the former home of the Bakwains, 
they soon after entered the high road to the Ba- 
mangwato country. This road, for the most part, 



56 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

follows an ancient river-bed, and leads northward. 
The surrounding country is perfectly flat, but 
covered with open forest and bush, and abund- 
ance of grass. The trees are mostly " Monato " — 
a kind of acacia. A large caterpillar, called 
"Nato," feeds upon the leaves of these trees by 
night, and comes down in the day-time to bury 
itself in the sand at the root. When about to 
pass into the chrysalis state, it buries itself in 
the soil, and, if left undisturbed, comes forth a 
beautiful butterfly. This change in the form of 
insect life, with which all my readers are familiar, 
was used with good effect by our missionary, 
when speaking to the natives, to illustrate our 
own great change and resurrection. 

Passing Lopepe on this journey, Livingstone 
noticed additional evidence to that before gath- 
ered of the desiccation of the country. The first 
time he passed here it was a large pool, with a 
stream flowing out of it to the south. Now it 
wa^s difficult to obtain water for the cattle by 
digging in the bottom of a well. At Mashue a 
never-failing supply of pure water was found in 
a sandstone, rocky hollow. Here our travelers 
left the Baraangwato road, and struck off to the 
north into the desert. The country is covered 
with bushes and trees, of a kind of leguminosae, 
with lilac flowers. 



ON THE ROUTE. 57 

The soil is soft white sand, in which the wheels 
of the wagon sink over the felloes, making very- 
hard work for the oxen. When they came to 
Serotli they found only a few hollows, like those 
made by the buffalo and rhinoceros, when they 
roll themselves in the mud. In the corner of one 
of these a little water appeared. The dogs would 
have quickly lapped it all up, if they had not been 
driven away. And this was, in appearance, the 
only supply for a score of men, twenty horses, 
and about eighty oxen. However, Ramotobi, the 
chief guide, who had spent his youth in the des- 
ert, declared there was plenty of water to be had. 
This place must afford the only supply of water 
they could expect for the next seventy miles — 
three days' journey. And the prospect was not 
flattering. The spades were brought out, but the 
guides, despising such aid, began scooping out 
the sand with their hands. By the aid of both 
hands and spades, the sand was at last dug out 
of two holes, so as to form pits about six feet deep, 
and as many in width. The guides were very 
earnest in their injunctions not to break through 
the hard stratum of sand. If this were broken, 
they said, " the water would go away." 

An Englishman traveling in this country proved 
the value of such advice by disregarding it. He 
dug through the sandy stratum forming the 



5 8 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

bottom of the wells, and thus destroyed them. 
Our travelers found that the water flowed in from 
all sides, at the line of contact between the soft 
sand and this flooring of incipient sandstone. 
Waiting for it to collect, they had enough that 
evening for the horses. But the thirsty oxen, 
who had been without water four full days, had 
to be taken back to Lobotani for a supply. The 
next morning it was found that the water had 
flowed in faster than at first — affording a suffi- 
cient supply for all their need. 

In the evening of their second day at Serotli, 
a hyena raised a panic among the cattle, by ap- 
pearing suddenly amidst the grass. This cow- 
ardly animal always adopts such a mode of attack. 
If an animal is running away he will bite ; but if 
the animal stands still, so does he. Seventeen 
of their draught oxen ran away, and, in their 
flight, went into the hands of Sekomi. And as 
this chief was unfriendly to their success in this 
expedition, they did not very much desire to see 
him. But Sekomi sent back the oxen with a 
message, strongly urging Livingstone to abandon 
his scheme of crossing the desert. "Where are 
you going ? You will be killed by the sun and 
thirst, and then all the white men will blame me 
for not saving you." Our travelers replied that 
the white men would attribute their death to their 



ON THE ROUTE. 59 

own stupidity and " hard-headedness." They sent 
a handsome present to Sekomi, with the promise 
of a repetition on their return, if he allowed the 
Bakalahari to keep the wells open for them. 

After exhausting all his eloquence in fruitless 
efforts to persuade the party to return, the under- 
chief, who headed the band of messengers from 
Sakomi, inquired, "Who is taking them?" Look- 
ing round, he exclaimed with an expression of 
deep disgust, " It is Ramatobi !" This guide was 
a fugitive from Sekomi's tribe, who had fled to 
Sechele. But though engaged in what he knew 
was opposed to the interests of his own tribe, he 
was in no danger; since these desertions from 
one tribe to another were quite common. The 
fugitive may even visit the tribe from which he 
escaped without harm. 

Here in the desert, where no water was ac- 
cessible, large numbers of elands, fat and sleek 
as if fully supplied in all their wants, fed around 
our travelers. And when they killed some of 
these fine animals, their stomachs contained con- 
siderable quantities of water. These animals 
subsist for months together without drinking — 
having only the moisture of the pasturage .on 
which they feed. But when the drought is such 
as completely to dry up the sap of vegetation, as 
occasionally happens, they are driven from the 



60 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

desert. The presence of these animals give the 
experienced traveler of the desert no assurance 
against the danger of perishing with thirst. But if 
he falls upon the "spoor," or track of the buffalo, 
rhinoceros, or zebra, he knows that, following it 
a few miles, water is certain to be found. 

There is here such perfect sameness in the 
landscape, in whatever direction you look, that if 
you walk a quarter of a mile from the wells, it is 
difficult to return. The country is perfectly flat, 
and the soil a soft white sand. A peculiar glare 
of bright sunlight from a cloudless sky every- 
where meets the eye. One clump of trees and 
bushes, with the open spaces between, looks so 
exactly like another, that those who have spent 
their lives in the desert, sometimes lose their 
way. While here at Serotli, Oswell and Murray 
went out one day to hunt an eland, taking one of 
the Bakalahari for a guide. Even this son of the 
desert was so puzzled with the perfect sameness 
of the country, that the party wandered about all 
night in the cold, vainly trying to find their way 
back to the wagons. The next day, however, the 
hunters succeeded in making a return by their 
own sagacity — which is greatly quickened by 
sojourn in the desert. 

Livingstone sometimes felt much annoyed at 
the low estimation in which his hunting friends 



SLOW PROGRESS. 6 1 

were held by the natives. " Have these hunters 
who come so far, and work so hard, no meat at 
home ?" said they. " Why, these men are rich," 
was the reply, "and could slaughter oxen every 
day of their lives ; and yet they come here and 
endure so much thirst for the sake of this dry 
meat, none of which is equal to beef!" "Yes, it 
is for the sake of play besides " — the idea of sport 
is not in their language. This produces a laugh, 
as much as to say, " Ah ! you know better ;" or, 
" Your friends are fools." 

Our travelers left Serotli in the afternoon, and 
the second night found they had made only 
twenty-five miles. The distance was measured 
by a trocheameter, an instrument which, when 
fastened to the wagon wheel, records the number 
of its revolutions. This number, multiplied by 
the circumference of the wheel, gives the actual 
distance traveled over. 

Ramotobi, the guide, was angry at this slow 
progress, and said, "If we travel so slowly we 
shall never reach the next water, which is three 
days in front." The wagons dragged very 
heavily through the deep sand, and even though 
it was Winter, the sun was so hot that the oxen 
could travel only morning and evening, so that 
next day, with the utmost efforts of the servants, 
screaming, cracking their whips, and beating the 



62 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

tired oxen, they were able to urge them only 
nineteen miles. As near as could be determined, 
they still had about thirty miles of the same dry 
work between them and the next water. At this 
season the grass becomes so dry that it crumbles 
to powder in the hands ; so the oxen stood 
wearily chewing, without taking a single fresh 
mouthful, sometimes lowing painfully as they 
caught the smell of water from the vessels in the 
wagons. 

But these brave men had no thought of being 
defeated in their purpose, and accordingly Mur- 
ray and the guide started forward with the horses, 
so as to save them for a desperate effort, in case 
the oxen should fail, while Livingstone and Oswell 
remained to bring their wagons on their track as 
far as the oxen could drag them, and then send 
the cattle forward, too. 

The horses walked quickly away, but on the 
next morning, when they supposed the steeds 
had nearly reached the water, they were discov- 
ered just along side of the wagons. Ramotobi, 
having come across the fresh footprints of some 
Bushmen, turned aside to follow them, though 
they led in an opposite direction to the course 
our travelers wished to go. Murray followed the 
guide trustingly, saw him slaughter an antelope 
which had been caught in one of the Bushmen's 




WARRIOR AND WIFE. 



FINDING WATER. 63 

pitfalls, and after a hard day's ride found himself 
close upon the wagons. 

Though for sixty or seventy miles along their 
path one clump of bushes and trees seemed ex- 
actly like every other, still Ramotobi showed an 
admirable knowledge of the trackless waste of 
shrub. Walking along beside Livingstone this 
morning, he said, "When we come to that hol- 
low we shall light upon the highway of Sekomi, 
and beyond that, again, lies the river Mokoko." 
Some of the men, going forward on a little path 
where were some of the water-loving animals, re- 
turned with the joyful news of "zvatse" — water — 
showing the mud upon their knees in confirma- 
tion of the tidings. This proved to be a pool 
of delicious rain-water, called Mathuluani. The 
supply of water it afforded was welcomed with 
thankfulness by the weary travelers. The thirsty 
oxen rushed into the pool till the water was deep 
enough to be nearly level with their throats, and 
then stood drawing in the long refreshing mouth- 
fuls till their sides, just now collapsed, were dis- 
tended as if they would burst. This was in the 
bed of the river Mokoko, though Livingstone 
could not perceive it to be a river-bed at all. 
The name refers to the water-bearing stratum 
before spoken of; 

Resting here awhile, our travelers then passed 



64 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

along the river-bed to Mokokonyani, where the 
water, generally under ground, makes its appear- 
ance on the surface. Three miles further down 
is another spring, called Lotlakani — a little seed. 
Here Livingstone met with the first Palmyra 
trees he had seen in South Africa. They were 
twenty-six in number. 

When leaving the Mokoko Ramotobi for the 
first time seemed at a loss which direction to 
take. Mr. Oswell, riding in front of the wagons, 
chanced to spy a bush woman running in a bent 
position to escape observation. . Thinking it to 
be a lion, he galloped up to her. She thought 
herself captured, and began to give up her prop- 
erty, consisting of a few traps made of cords. 
Livingstone soon explained to her that they only 
wanted water, and would pay her if she would 
lead them to it. She consented, and though it 
was then late in the afternoon, she walked briskly 
in front of their horses, and conducted them a 
distance of eight miles, to the spring of Ncho- 
kotsa. She had fled from a party of her country- 
men, and was now living far from all others, with 
her husband. Having led them to the water, she 
wished to return, but as it was now dark, our 
travelers desired her to remain. As she believed 
herself a captive, they thought she might slip 
away by night. And in order that she might not 



THE BUSHMEN. 65 

go away with the impression that they were dis- 
honest, the travelers gave her a piece of meat 
and a large bunch of beads. At the sight of the 
beads she burst into a merry laugh, and remained 
very contentedly. 

And now a word or two about these Bush- 
men — the tribe to which this woman belonged. 
They were probably the aboriginals of the south- 
ern part of the continent. They live in the des- 
ert from choice, and have an intense love of lib- 
erty. They never cultivate the soil, but live on 
game, and the roots and fruits of the desert, 
gathered by the women. The Bakalahari also 
inhabit the desert. Living upon the same plains, 
subjected to similar influences of climate for cen- 
turies, eating the same food, and enduring the 
same thirst, with the Bushmen ; still the distinc- 
tion between the two races remains. 

The Bakalahari are said to be the oldest of the 
Bechuana tribes, and once possessed enormous 
herds of horned cattle. They live in the desert 
to escape their enemies ; but retain the Bechuana 
love for agriculture and domestic animals. They 
till their gardens, though often they can hope for 
nothing more than a supply of pumpkins and mel- 
ons. They give great care to the raising of small 
herds of goats, though sometimes obliged to lift 
water for them from small wells, with a bit of 
5 



66 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

ostrich egg-shell, or by spoonfuls. For the most 
part they attach themselves to men of influence, 
in the different Bechuana tribes, around their des- 
ert home. From these they obtain spears, knives, 
tobacco, and dogs, in exchange for skins of ani- 
mals which they kill. They are a timid race. A 
few Bechuanas may go into one of their villages 
and domineer over the whole community as they 
please. But they are compelled to change their 
manner when they meet the bold and fearless 
Bushmen. Their request for tobacco is at once 
respected, because these free sons of the desert 
would not hesitate to enforce that request with a 
poisoned arrow. 

To escape visits from strange tribes of the 
Bechuanas, the Bakalahari make their homes far 
from water. They frequently hide their supplies 
of water in pits, which they fill with sand, and 
then build a fire over the spot. The women draw 
the water, carrying it upon their backs in water- 
vessels, twenty or thirty of which are inclosed in 
a bag or net. The water-vessel is an ostrich egg- 
shell, with a hole in one end, about the size of 
your finger. The water is pumped into these in 
a way somewhat peculiar. A hollow reed, about 
two feet long, and the mouth of the woman con- 
stitutes the pump. A bunch of grass is fastened 
to one end of the reed, and this inserted in a hole 



FINDING WATER. 6j 

dug as deep as the arm will reach. Then the 
wet sand is packed down firmly around it. The 
woman now applies her mouth to the top of the 
reed. A vacuum is produced in the grass. The 
water collects there, and soon rises to the mouth 
From the mouth a straw guides it to an egg-shell 
conveniently placed. Thus mouthful after mouth- 
ful is patiently pumped up till all the shells 
are filled. Then the whole is carried home in the 
manner mentioned and carefully buried. Living- 
stone says : " I have come into villages where, 
had we acted a domineering part, and rummaged 
every hut, we should have found nothing. But 
by sitting down quietly, and waiting with patience 
till the villagers were led to form a favorable 
opinion of us, a woman would bring out a shell 
full of the precious fluid, from I know not 
where." 



68 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 



CHAPTER III. 

Mirage in the Desert — Discovery of Lake Ngami — The 
Tsetse — Sebitnane — Death of the Great Chieftain — 
Discovery of the Zambezi. 

AT Nehokotsa our travelers found the first of 
a large number of saliners, or salt-pans. 
They are covered with an efflorescence of lime — 
probably the nitrate. This one is twenty miles 
in circumference. On the approach from the 
south-east it is hidden by a thick belt of mopane 
trees. Livingstone thus describes the first view 
of it by himself and his companions : " At the 
time the pan burst upon our view the setting sun 
was casting a beautiful blue haze over the white 
incrustations, making the whole look exactly like 
a lake. Oswell threw his hat up in the air at the 
sight, and shouted out a huzza which made the 
poor Bushwoman and the Bakwains think him 
mad. I was a little behind him, and was as com- 
pletely deceived as he ; but as we had agreed to 
allow each other to behold the lake at the same 
instant, I felt a little chagrined that he had unin- 
tentionally got the first glance. We had no idea 



MIRAGE. 69 

that the long-looked-for lake was still more than 
three hundred miles distant. One reason of our 
mistake was that the river Zonga was often 
spoken of by the same name as the lake> 
namely, Noka* ea Batletli — River of the Batletli. 

"The mirage on these salines is marvelous. 
It is never, I believe, seen in perfection, except 
over such saline incrustations. Here not a par- 
ticle of imagination was necessary for realizing 
the exact picture of large collections of water — 
the waves danced along above, and the shadows 
of the trees were vividly reflected beneath the 
surface in such an admirable manner that the 
loose cattle, whose thirst had not been slaked suf- 
ficiently by the very brackish water of Nehokotsa, 
with the horses, dogs, and even the Hottentots, 
ran off toward the deceitful pools. A herd of 
zebras in the mirage looked so exactly like ele- 
phants that Oswell began to saddle a horse in 
order to hunt them ; but a sort of break in the 
haze dispelled the illusion. Looking to the west 
and north-west from Nehokotsa, we could see 
columns of black smoke, exactly like those from 
a steam-engine, and were assured that they arose 
from the burning reeds of the Noka ea Batletli." 

On the Fourth of July they went forward on 
horseback toward what they supposed to be the 
lake. Again and again did they seem to see it ; 



JO LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

but at last they came to the veritable water of 
the Zouga, which they found to be a river run- 
ning to the north-east. On the opposite bank 
was a village of Bahurutse, a tribe who live among 
the Batletli-. They seem to be allied to the Hot- 
tentot family. Sebituane found them in posses- 
sion of large herds of the great-horned cattle. 
Livingstone and two Bakwains waded across the 
river by the side of a fishing-weir. In trying to 
cross Mr. Oswell got his horse mired in the 
swampy bank. The people were found to be 
friendly, and informed the strangers that this 
water came out of the Ngami. The travelers 
might, they said, "be a moon on the way," but 
they now had the river Zouga at their feet, and 
by following it they would reach the "broad 
water." This- was joyful news, and put the whole 
company in fine spirits. 

The next day, when their success made them 
feel very kindly toward every one, two of the 
Bamangwato came and sat by their fire. They 
had been sent by Sekomi to drive away all the 
Bushmen and Bakalahari from the path of the 
travelers, so they could not assist or guide them. 
These men seemed to feel no enmity, but entered 
into friendly conversation. "You have reached 
the river now," said they. Yet they still con- 
tinued to fulfill the instructions of their chief. 



PEA CE-MEN OF AFRICA. J l 

Going up the Zouga in advance of Livingstone 
and his company, they spread the report that 
his object was to plunder all the tribes living on 
the river and lake ; but when about half-way up 
the river the principal man died of fever. The 
villagers connected his death with the attempt 
to injure Livingstone, and so it turned greatly to 
his advantage. They all understood, easily, the 
reasons Sekomi had for desiring the failure of 
the expedition. 

When our travelers had ascended this beautiful 
river about ninety-six miles, and learned that 
they were still quite a distance from Ngami, they 
left all the wagons, except Mr. Oswell's, which 
was smallest, at Ngabisane. All the oxen but 
one team were left, that they might be recruited 
for the homeward journey. 

Pushing onward toward the lake, they were 
kindly received by the Bakoba, whose language 
clearly shows their affinity to the tribes of the 
North. The chief of the lake sent orders to all 
the people on the river to assist the travelers. 
This tribe just named are a singular people. 
They are the Quakers of Africa ; they have 
never been known to fight. They have a tradi- 
tion that their forefathers, in their first attempts 
at war, made their bows of the Palma Christi, 
and when these broke they gave up fighting alto- 



72 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

gether. They invariably submit to the rule of 
every horde which overruns the river countries 
where they dwell. They call themselves Bay- 
eiye men, but the Bechuanas call them Bakoba — 
a term which contains somewhat of the idea of 
slaves. 

A long time after Livingstone's visit, the chief 
of the lake thought to make soldiers of them, 
by furnishing them shields. "Ah! we never 
had these before," said they ; " that is the reason 
we have always succumbed. Now we will fight." 
But a marauding party came from the Makoloto, 
and these "Friends" took to their canoes at once, 
and paddled rapidly down the Zougo till they 
reached the end of the river. The canoes of 
these people are made from the trunks of trees 
hollowed out with iron adzes. If the tree has a 
bend so has the canoe. They have fires in these 
rude crafts, and while on a journey, sleep in them. 
" On land," say they, " you have lions, serpents, 
hyenas, and your enemies ; but in your canoe, 
behind a bank of reed, nothing can harm you." 
Livingstone's opinion of them is given in the fol- 
lowing quotation, along with other matters per- 
taining to our narrative : " I liked the frank and 
manly bearing of these men, and instead of sil- 
ting in the wagon, preferred a seat in one of the 
canoes. I found they regarded their rude vessels 



AFRICAN RIVERS. ?$ 

as the Arab does his camel. . . . Their sub- 
missive disposition leads to their villages being 
frequently visited by hungry strangers. We had 
a pot on the fire, in the canoe, by the way, and 
when we drew near the village, devoured the con- 
tents. When fully satisfied ourselves, I found we 
could all look upon any intruders with perfect 
complacency, and show the pot in proof of hav- 
ing devoured the last morsel." 

"While ascending in this way the beautifully 
wooded river, we came to a large stream flowing 
into it. This was the river Tamunak'le. I in- 
quired whence it came. ' O, from a country full 
of rivers — so many, no one can tell their num- 
ber — and full of large trees.' This was the first 
confirmation of statements I had heard from the 
Bakwains, who had been with Sebituane, that the 
country beyond was not the 'large sandy plateau' 
of the philosophers. The prospect of a highway 
capable of being traversed by boats to an entirely 
unexplored and very populous region, grew, from 
that time forward, stronger and stronger in my 
mind ; so much so, that the actual discovery 
seemed of but little importance. I find I wrote, 
when the emotions caused by this magnificent 
prospect of the new country were first awakened 
in my breast, that they might subject me to the 
charge of enthusiasm, a charge which I wished I 



74 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

deserved, as nothing good or great had ever been 
accomplished in the world without it." 

Twelve days had elapsed since the departure 
from Ngabisane, where the wagons were left — 
when our travelers reached the north-east end of 
Lake Ngami. On the first of August, 1849, Liv- 
ingstone, Oswell, and Murray went down to the 
broad part. Then, for the first time, this beauti- 
ful sheet of water was seen by Europeans. The 
direction of the lake, by compass, seemed to- be 
north north-east, and south south-west. The 
southern part is said to bend round to the 
west, and to receive the Teoughe from the north 
at the north-west extremity. No horizon could 
be seen off at the south south-west. The only 
means of estimating the extent of the lake was 
the statement of the natives that they traveled 
round it in three days. This would make the 
circumference about seventy-five miles. The 
water is too shallow to be of much importance 
^s a highway of commerce. Livingstone asserts 
he "saw a native punting his canoe over seven 
or eight miles of the north-east end." For 
months preceding the annual supply of water 
from the north, the lake is so shallow that cattle 
approach the water through the low, boggy, reedy 
banks, with difficulty. Another of the numerous 
proofs of desiccation, so frequently met with 



LAKE KUMADAU. 75 

throughout the country, was found here. On 
the west side of this arm of the lake there is a 
space devoid of trees, affording evidence that the 
water has receded thence at no very distant 
period. The Bayeiye asserted that when the an- 
nual inundation begins, not only trees of great 
size, but antelopes are swept down by the rush- 
ing waters. The trees are gradually driven to 
the opposite side by the wind, and are soon im- 
bedded in the mud. The water of the lake is 
brackish when low, and perfectly fresh when full. 
The water of the Tamunak'le which flows into the 
Zouga was found to be clear, cold, and soft, as 
you ascend the river, so as to suggest the idea of 
melting snow. 

Livingstone found this whole region much 
lower than that from which he came. The low- 
est point is Lake Kumadau, into which the wa- 
ters of the Zouga flow, about two hundred miles 
from Lake Ngami. Here water boils at a point 
between 206 and 207J , as indicated by New- 
man's Barometric thermometer. This gives an 
elevation of not much more than two thous- 
and feet above the level of the sea. And that 
is two thousand feet below Kolobeng. This 
is the southern and lowest part of an extensive 
river system, which receives the floods from the 
north, produced by tropical rains ; and which 



76 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

seems to have been prepared for a more abund- 
ant supply than now flows in these channels. 

" It resembles a deserted Eastern garden, where 
all the embankments and canals for irrigation can 
be traced, but where the main dam and sluices 
having been allowed to get out of repair, only a 
small portion can be laid under water. In the 
case of the Zouga, the channel is perfect, but 
water enough to fill the whole channel never 
comes down, and before it finds its way much 
beyond Kumadau, the upper supply ceases to 
run, and the rest becomes evaporated. The 
higher parts of its bed even are much broader and 
more capacious toward Kumadau. The water is 
not absorbed so much as lost in filling up an 
empty channel, from which it is to be removed 
by the air and sun. There is, I am convinced, 
no such thing in the country as a river running 
into the sand, and becoming lost. The phenome- 
non, so convenient for geographers, haunted my 
fancy for years ; but I have failed in discovering 
any thing except a most insignificant approach 
to it." 

This phenomenon, which Livingstone, in the 
words now quoted, has evaporated into a myth, 
has been convenient for many others, besides 
the geographers ; orators and essayists have re- 
peatedly stated it as fact till illustrations and 



" YOUNG AFRICA." J J 

arguments based upon it pervade our literature. 
Henceforth it must probably be treated as fable. 

The principal object had in view by our mis- 
sionary in this journey to the lake was to visit 
Sebitnane, the great chief of the Makololo, who 
was said to live some two hundred miles beyond. 
They had now reached a half-tribe of the Ba- 
mangwato, called Batauana, whose chief was a 
young man named Lechulatebe. His father had 
been conquered by Sebituane, and he received 
part of his education while a captive among the 
Bayeiye. He was ransomed by his uncle, who, 
having collected a number of families together, 
abdicated the chieftainship in his favor. With 
something of the spirit of " Young America," this 
young African thought to show his ability, and 
signalize his coming into power by acting di- 
rectly contrary to the judicious and sensible ad- 
vice of his uncle. 

When the travelers came, the uncle advised 
that they be treated handsomely. To do this 
according to the customs of the country required 
the present of an ox ; and so this promising 
young chief presented them with a goat. Liv- 
ingstone, better acquainted than his companions 
with the customs of the country, knew this to be 
an insult, and proposed to loose the animal and 
let him go. But the rest of the party objected, 



78 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

fearing to offend the chief by so bold a hint of 
his impoliteness. 

They wished to purchase some oxen or goats 
for food, and Lechnlatebe offered them elephants' 
tusks. " No, we can not eat these," said they ; 
"we want something to fill our stomachs." 
" Neither can I," he replied ; " but I hear you 
white men are all very fond of these bones, so 
I offer them. I want to put the goats into my 
own stomach." The natives of this part of the 
country, having never before had a market for 
them, knew nothing of the value of these 
" bones," as they called the tusks ; so they left 
them to rot with the other bones of the ele- 
phant, where he fell. A trader who accompa- 
nied Livingstone and his party was now pur- 
chasing ivory at the rate of ten large tusks for a 
musket worth thirteen shillings sterling ; and in 
less than two years from this time not a man 
could be found who was not keenly alive to the 
great value of this commodity. 

Immediately after his arrival at the lake, Liv- 
ingstone had applied to Lechulatebe for guides 
to Sebitnane. But he was afraid of that chief, 
and wished to retain the superiority which the 
possession of fire-arms gave him ; hence, he was 
anxious to prevent communication between the 
white men and that chieftain, lest they should 



EXPEDITION INTERRURTED. 79 

sell him guns. Livingstone urged that he would 
inculcate peace — that Sebituane had been a 
father to this young chief and Sechele, and that 
he was anxious to see the white missionary ; but 
all in vain. Lechulatebe offered him • all the 
ivory he needed. This being refused, he re- 
luctantly promised to furnish the guides ; but 
the next day, when the travelers were ready to 
start, they were met by an obstinate refusal, 
and men were sent to the Bayeiye with orders 
to refuse them a passage across the river. 

Unwilling to be defeated, Livingstone tried 
hard to build a raft at the narrow part of the 
river ; but the dry wood was so worm-eaten 
it would not bear the weight of a single person, 
and this project was abandoned after many hours 
of fruitless work in the water. Our missionary 
says: "I was not then aware of4he number of 
alligators which exist in the Zouga, and never 
think of my labor in the water without feeling 
thankful that I escaped their jaws." With his 
usual generosity, Mr. Oswell now offered to go 
down and bring a boat from the Cape, for a 
future expedition, and the season being far ad- 
vanced, the party determined to return South 
again for the present. 

Coming down the river they had time to no- 
tice its banks, which are very beautiful, resem- 



80 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

bling parts of the river Clyde above Glasgow. 
They are sloping and grassy on one side, and 
perpendicular on the other, to which the water 
swings, and adorned along their margins with 
magnificent trees. 

The sloping banks are selected by the Bay- 
eiye for pitfalls, which they make to entrap 
animals as they come to drink. They are so 
carefully covered that some of the party fell into 
them while searching for them in order to pre- 
vent the cattle falling into them. If an ox sees 
a hole he shuns it with the utmost care. Old 
elephants sometimes go in advance of the herd, 
and throw off the coverings from the pitfalls on 
each side of the path down to the water ; and 
instances have been known in which, with re- 
markable sagacity, they have lifted their young 
out of the trap.- 

Very large numbers of elephants were found 
on the southern bank — somewhat smaller than 
those farther south. They come to the river by 
night, and while drinking throw large quantities 
of water over themselves. While enjoying this 
refreshment they may be' heard screaming with 
delight. They show their dread of pitfalls by 
starting, on their return to the desert, in a 
straight line, from which they never diverge till 
eight or ten miles away. 



NEW START. 8 1 

Our travelers discovered here a beautiful wa 
ter antelope — an entirely new species — of light: 
brownish-yellow color. It is unknown except in 
the central, humid basin of Africa, and is never 
found a mile from water. It is a noble-looking 
animal, when, as is usual, it stands with head 
erect, gazing at the approaching stranger. When 
a retreat is decided upon it lowers its head, and 
begins with a waddling trot, which is soon ex- 
changed for a gallop, in which it springs lightly 
over the bushes, or bounds through the water. 

Livingstone returned to Kolobeng, and in 
April, 1850, made a new start, in company with 
Sechele — who had now a wagon of his own — 
intending to cross the Zouga at its lower end, 
and following up that river and the Tamunakle, 
reach the country of Sebituane by that route. 
Mrs. Livingstone and the three children accom- 
panied him this time. Sechele separated from 
them at the crossing of the river in order to 
visit Lechulatebe. The missionary family, mean- 
while, passed along the northern bank, cutting 
their way through the forest with very great 
labor. The Bayeiye kindly opened the pitfalls 
whenever they knew of the approach of the 
travelers. Still, as in many cases, their coming 
was not known, and the pits were left concealed. 
The loss of oxen by this means was very heavy. 
6 



82 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

On nearing the mouth of the Tamunak'le, in- 
formation was received that the banks of that 
river abounded with the fly, called tsetse. The 
bite of this insect is very poisonous to cattle ; 
and as its presence might have brought the wag- 
ons to a sudden halt, in the wilderness, where no 
food could be obtained for the family, the party 
were compelled to recross the Zouga, to escape 
the danger. 

Here they learned, from the natives, that a 
party of Englishmen, who had come to the lake, 
in search of ivory, were all sick of fever. So 
turning back from their course, they traveled hur- 
riedly down the river, about sixty miles, to ren- 
der them assistance. On their arrival they 
v learned with sorrow that one of the company 
had already died. This was Mr. Alfred Rider, an 
enterprising young artist, who had come, soon 
after its discovery, to make sketches of the lake 
^and surrounding country. But fortunately, the 
rest recovered, by the aid of medicines and the 
skillful nursing of Mrs. Livingstone — the first 
English lady who ever visited the lake. 

Sechele employed all his eloquence to induce 
Lechulatebe to furnish guides, for Livingstone to 
visit Sebituane on ox-back, while his family re- 
mained at Lake Ngami. At last he yielded ; per- 
suaded, however, not so much by argument, as 



SICKNESS OF FAMIL V. 8$ 

by an intense desire for a superior London- 
made gain, possessed by the missionary. It was 
the gift of Lieutenant Arkwright, and valued 
very highly, both on that account, and because of 
the impossibility of replacing it. The young 
chief offered any number of elephants' tusks, and 
promised to furnish Mrs. Livingstone with meat, 
during the absence of her husband. So the gun 
was delivered to him, and the guides provided. 

Preparations for the departure being complete, 
Dr. Livingstone took his wife out about six miles 
from town, in order to give her a view of the 
broad part of the lake. The next morning, when 
he expected to start on his journey, their little 
boy and girl were attacked with the fever. And 
on the day following, all their servants were taken 
with the same disease. The best remedy in such 
cases is a change of place. So they started at 
once for the pure air of the desert. Thus the 
visit to Sebituane was reluctantly deferred a sec- 
ond time. It was not abandoned, however. The 
gun was left as part payment for guides the next 
year. 

Some mistake having occurred in the arrange- 
ment with Mr. Oswell, he reached the Zouga 
only in time to meet Livingstone's party on their 
return. He then employed the remainder of the 
season in hunting elephants. The natives pro- 



84 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

nounced him the greatest adept at this art that 
ever came to the country. He has been known 
to kill four large male elephants a day. The 
value of the tusks would be one hundred guineas. 
This lordly animal is so worried by the presence 
of a few barking dogs, that he is utterly incapable 
of attending to man. He awkwardly attempts to 
crush them by falling on his knees. Sometimes 
he places his forehead against a tree, ten inches 
in diameter, and by glancing first on one side, 
and then on the other, he pushes it down be- 
fore him, as though he thought in that way to 
catch his enemies. Mr. Oswell hunted without 
dogs. This gave the natives a high idea of En- 
glish courage. 

When Sebituane heard of these repeated at- 
tempts to visit him, he sent three detachments 
of his men to Lechulatebe, Sechele, and Sekomi, 
with a present of thirteen cows to each ; request- 
ing them to assist the white men to reach him. 
But these chiefs pursued the usual African policy 
in attempting to keep him out of view, and act 
as his agents in purchasing the goods he wanted 
with his ivory. Hence, Sechele permitted all the 
messengers to leave Kolobeng during Living- 
stone's absence, on a visit to Kurruman. 

When, however, he started on his third attempt 
to reach the country of Sebituane, Sekomi was 



BUSHMEN. 85 

unusually gracious, and furnished a guide. When 
the party reached Nchokotsa, they were in need 
of another guide, as no one of those they now 
had knew any thing of the path they wished to 
follow beyond that point. Fortunately, they 
found one of Sekomi's men here, who was well 
acquainted with the Bushmen in the country 
they were to pass through. Fortunately, too, he 
needed some assistance they were able to render. 
The main-spring of his gun was broken. And in 
return for his service as a guide, Livingstone un- 
dertook the repair of the gun. The other guides 
were liberally rewarded by Mr. Oswell. 

The party now moved rapidly northward, over 
a hard, flat country, for several hundred miles. 
Several salt-pans were found ; one of which is 
one hundred miles long, by fifteen wide. In 
each of these salt-pans there is a spring of 
brackish water, containing nitrate of soda. 

At a place called Matlomagan-yana, or the 
" links," they found quite a chain of never-failing 
springs. Here were several families of Bushmen, 
quite unlike those of the Kalahari desert. Those 
are generally short, and of light-yellow color. 
These are tall, lusty, and of dark complexion. 
Blackness of the skin, it seems, is not produced 
by heat alone. But heat with moisture gives the 
darkest hue. 



86 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

One of these Bushmen, named Shobo, was ob- 
tained as a guide over the desert between these 
springs and the country of Sebituane. The 
guide gave no hope of reaching water for a 
month. But, providentially, some supplies were 
sooner found in a chain of rain-water pools. 
After leaving these, the prospect was the most 
uninviting and dreary which one can possibly 
imagine. No bird or insect enlivened the scene. 
And the landscape was adorned with no vegeta- 
tion, save a low shrub, in the deep sand. 

To add to the gloom, on the second day 
Shobo, the guide, wandered to all points of the 
compass. He would follow the tracks of ele- 
phants, which had been here in the rainy season, 
in every direction ; then sitting down in the 
path he would say, in his broken Sichuana lan- 
guage : " No water ; all country only ; Shobo 
sleeps ; he breaks down ; all country." Then 
curling himself up, he would go to sleep. The 
oxen were terribly tired and thirsty. On the 
morning of the fourth day, after professing igno- 
rance of every thing, Shobo disappeared. 

The party went forward in the direction in 
which they last saw him. About eleven o'clock 
they began to see birds, and soon after found the 
trail of a rhinoceros. At this the oxen were 
unyoked, and apparently knowing the sign, they 



SHOBO, THE GUIDE. 87 

rushed along to find water in the river Mahabe, 
which flows from the Tamunak'le, and lay off to 
the west. The water in the wagons had been 
wasted by one of the servants, and by afternoon 
very little remained for the children. Of the 
suffering and intense anxiety experienced at this 
time, the words of Livingstone will speak most 
appropriately : " This was a bitterly anxious 
night, and next morning the less there was of 
water, the more thirsty the little rogues became. 
The idea of their perishing before our eyes was 
terrible. It would almost have been a relief to 
me to have been reproached with being the en- 
tire cause of the catastrophe ; but not one sylla- 
ble of upbraiding was uttered by their mother, 
though the tearful eye told the agony within. In 
the afternoon of the fifth day, to our inexpressible 
relief, some of the men returned with a supply 
of that fluid, of which we had never before felt 
the true value." 

When they came to the river Mahabe, Shobo 
made his appearance at the head of a party 
of Bayeiye. In order to show his importance 
before his new friends he walked boldly up, and 
commanded the whole cavalcade to stop, and 
bring forth fire and tobacco, then coolly sat 
down to smoke his pipe. The showing off was 
so inimitably natural that the whole party stopped 



88 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

to admire the acting. Shobo was a fine specimen 
of that wonderful people, the Bushmen ; and not- 
withstanding his recent desertion of them, our 
travelers all liked him. 

On this journey forty-three fine oxen were lost 
by the bite of the tsetse. This insect is very 
little larger than the common horse-fly. It is 
nearly of the dark-brown color of the honey-bee, 
having three Or four yellow bars across the back 
part of the body. Its bite is certain death to the 
horse, dog, and ox. Many large tribes on the 
river Zambesi can keep no domestic animal 
except the goat, because of this insect. Yet its 
bite is no more harmful to man or wild animals 
than the bite of a musketo. The children of 
our missionary were bitten frequently, and suf- 
fered no harm. Calves, while feeding upon the 
milk of the cow, have a like impunity from 
the poison ; and yet, strangely enough, if a dog 
which has been bitten is fed on milk, that gives 
no relief from the certain death which results 
in all cases. From this curious fact it was 
thought possible that the poison might come 
from some plant, instead of the insect ; but the 
question was settled by Major Vardon, of the 
Madras army, who rode a horse up to a hill 
infested with tsetse, without allowing him to 
graze ; and though he remained only long 



THE TSETSE. 89 

enough to view the country around, and catch 
a few specimens of the insect on the horse, the 
noble animal died in ten days afterward. The 
habitat of this insect is very sharply defined. 
The south bank of the river Chobe is infested 
with them, while on the opposite bank, fifty 
yards distant, not one could be found. 

The Makololo whom our travelers met on the 
Chobe were delighted to see them. Sebituane, 
the chief, was about twenty miles down the river. 
Livingstone and Oswell proceeded in canoes to 
his temporary residence. He had come quite 
a distance to Sesheke, soon as he heard the 
white men were in search of him ; and now he 
had come one hundred miles farther, to welcome 
them to his country. He was on an island, with 
his principal men around him. When the trav- 
elers arrived the natives were engaged in singing. 
When the great chief was informed of the diffi- 
culties his visitors had encountered in reaching 
him, and their great joy at being now in his 
presence, he replied with an expression of his 
own delight at meeting them. He said : " Your 
cattle are all bitten with tsetse, and will cer- 
tainly die ; but never mind, I have oxen, and will 
give you as many as you need." He then pre- 
sented them with an ox and a jar of honey, and 
put them in the care of Mahale, who had led 



90 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the party of messengers to Kolobeng. Prepared 
skins of oxen, soft as cloth, were given them for 
covering at night ; and as the dignity of the chief 
did not allow any thing to be returned to him, 
Mahale became the proprietor of these robes. 
He arrogated to himself, too, all the credit of 
this visit from the white men. 

Sebituane was doubtless the greatest man in all 
that country. He was at this time about forty- 
five years of age, tall and wiry, slightly bald, and 
of an olive or cofFee-and-milk color. He was one 
of the greatest warriors of Africa. Unlike other 
noted war chiefs, he always led his men to battle 
in person. When he approached the enemy, he 
felt the edge of his battle-ax and said, "Aha! it is 
sharp, and who ever turns his back on the enemy 
will feel its edge." And so fleet of foot was he 
that all his warriors knew there was no escape for 
the coward. In some cases of cowardice, he 
would allow the person to return home. After- 
ward calling him, he would say, " Ah, you prefer 
dying at home to dying in the field, do you ? You 
shall have your desire." This was the signal for 
his immediate execution. 

After various fortunes in war, he conquered all 
the black tribes over an immense territory, and 
made himself a dread to the terrible and ferocious 
Mosilikatse. But he never could trust that chief. 



SEBITUANE. 9 1 

And as the Batoka, on the islands of the Zambesi, 
had ferried his enemies across the river, he made 
a rapid descent upon them, swept them all out of 
their island fastnesses, and placed sentinels along 
the river. Of the chiefs who escaped he said, 
" They love Mosilikatse ; let them live with him. 
The Zambesi is my line of defense." He had 
thus performed a good service to the country, by 
breaking down the old system, which prevented 
trade from penetrating the central valley. 

This chief had the art of gaining the affections 
both of strangers and his own people. And by 
this means he kept himself informed of every 
thing which took place in the country. If a com- 
pany of poor men came to his town to sell hoes, 
or skins, he soon formed their acquaintance. 
However unpromising in their appearance, he 
would surprise them by coming alone to them, 
when they were sitting far apart from the Mako- 
lolo gentlemen, who surrounded the chief. Sit- 
ting down with them, he would inquire if they 
were hungry. Then ordering an attendant to 
bring meal, milk, and honey, he would mix them 
in their sight, to remove all suspicion from their 
minds, and make them feast on a lordly dish — per- 
haps for the first time in their lives. Their hearts 
thus won by his hospitality and affability, they 
were ready to give him all the information in their 



92 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

power. He never allowed a party of strangers to 
leave him without a present to each one, servants 
and all. Hence his praises resounded through 
the country. " He has a heart ! he is wise," were 
the expressions usually heard respecting him. 

But all this applause could not stay the ap- 
proach of death. Soon after realizing his ardent 
desire to receive a visit from the white men, the 
great chief was taken with violent inflammation 
of the lungs, originating in an old wound received 
upon the battle-field. Livingstone saw his dan- 
ger, but feared to administer medicine, lest in the 
event of death he should be blamed. He men- 
tioned it to one of the Makololo doctors, who re- 
plied, " Your fear is prudent and wise ; this peo- 
ple would blame you." In the afternoon of the 
Sunday on which he died, after the usual religious 
service, our missionary, with his little boy Robert, 
visited the dying chief. " Come near," said he, 
"and see if I am any longer a man. I am done." 
Finding him thus sensible of his danger, the mis- 
sionary assented, and added a single sentence re- 
specting hope after death. "Why do you speak 
of death ?" said one of the newly arrived doctors, 
" Sebituane will never die." Had Livingstone 
persisted in his opinion, he would have made the 
impression that he wished for the death of the 
chief. After sitting with him some time, and 



DEA TH OF SEBITUANE. 93 

commending him to the mercy of God, he rose to 
depart, when the dying man raised himself up a 
little, and calling a servant, said, " Take Robert 
to Maunku," one of his wives, " and tell her to 
give him some milk." These were the last words 
of the dying chieftain* His last battle had been 
fought, and his war-club laid aside forever. 

Doctor Livingstone says of him : " He was 
decidedly the best specimen of a native chief I 
ever met. I never felt So much grieved by the 
loss of a black man before ; and it was impossi- 
ble not to follow him in thought into the world 
of which he had just heard before he was called 
away, and to realize somewhat of the feelings of 
those who pray for the dead. The deep, dark 
question of what is to become of such as he 
must, however, be left where we find it, believing 
that, assuredly, the "Judge of all the earth will 
do right." He was buried according to the cus- 
tom of the country — in his cattle pen — and the 
•whole herd driven over and around the grave for 
an hour or two, so as to obliterate it. Our trav- 
elers, before proceeding further, were obliged to 
wait for the message from Ma-mochisane, the 
daughter of the late chief, on whom, by her 
father's will, the chieftainship now devolved. She 
was living twelve days' journey farther north, but 
when her message came it gave them perfect lib- 



94 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

erty to visit any part of the country. They then 
proceeded to Sesheke, one hundred and thirty 
miles to the north-east ; and in the latter part 
of June, 185 1, they were rewarded by the dis- 
covery of the Zambesi, in the center of the 
continent, where the existence of that river was 
previously unknown. Though this was in the 
dry season, the river was from three hundred 
to six hundred yards wide, and a deep, flowing 
stream. At the time of its annual inundation it 
rises to a perpendicular hight of twenty feet, 
and floods the country for fifteen or twenty miles 
in width. Mr. Oswell said he had never seen so 
fine a river, even in India. 

No suitable locality for a missionary settle- 
ment among the Makololo could be found, be- 
cause the healthy districts were entirely defense- 
less, and the safe places were so constantly and 
fearfully scourged with fever that it was too per- 
ilous to risk the residence of the missionary fam- 
ily there. There was now no hope that the 
Boers would permit the peaceable continuance 
of the mission among the Bakwains at Kolobeng. 
Hence Livingstone resolved to relieve his family 
from further exposure by sending them to En- 
gland, while he should continue his explorations in 
search of a healthy district which might be made 
a center of civilization. Having been absent 



RETURN TO ENGLAND. 95 

from the scenes of civilization for eleven years, 
he returned to Cape Town in April, 1852, and 
his family embarked for England. He promised 
on their departure to rejoin them in two years, 
but subsequently the demands of his work con- 
strained him to a longer stay, and the separation 
was continued five years. 



g6 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 



CHAPTER IV. 

A Long Journey Begun — Attack of the Bakwains by 
the Boers — Plundering of the Missionary's House — 
Sechei.e — Hot Wind of the Desert — The Ostrich — 
Mowana Trees — The Lton — Encounter Between 
Three Lions and a Bupfalo. 

EARLY in June, 1852, the longest journey 
of the great African missionary began. 
This journey, endured for the cause of humanity 
and Christian civilization, extended from Cape 
Town, at the southern extremity of the Conti- 
nent, to St. Paul de Loando, on the western 
coast ; and thence obliquely across South Cen- 
tral Africa to Kilimane, near the mouth of the 
Zambesi, on the eastern coast. In all this weary 
travel of more than four thousand miles the best 
conveyance was a heavy lumber wagon, drawn by 
ten oxen. Where a wagon could not be used, he 
rode an ox. This kind of African traveling is 
described as " a prolonged system of picnicing, 
excellent for the health, and agreeable to those 
who are not over-fastidious about trifles, and who 
delight in being in the open air." The route of 



WA TERBOER. 



97 



our traveler lay northward, along the cone- 
shaped tract of land which constitutes the -prom- 
ontory of the Cape. He was attended on this 
journey by two Christian Bechuanas, from Kuru- 
man — who were most excellent servants — by two 
Bakwain men, and two young girlsj, who, having 
come to the Cape as nurses for the children of 
our missionary, were now returning to their home 
at Kolobeng. Slowly they wound their way 
through the colony to Orange River. On cross- 
ing this river they entered the territory of the 
Griquas — a mixed race sprung from natives and 
Europeans. They were governed for many years 
by Waterboer, an elected chief. Immediately 
upon his election to the chieftainship he declared 
that no marauding should be permitted. The 
government of these tribes is not despotic ; 
hence, in spite of this declaration, some of his 
principal men plundered some villages of Co- 
ran nas, south of Orange River, whereupon the 
chief seized six of the ringleaders, summoned his 
counsel, tried, condemned, and publicly executed 
them. This vigorous vindication of law and 
justice was so obnoxious to some of his people 
that they raised an insurrection and attempted 
to depose him. The insurgents twice attacked 
Griqua Town, his capital, but his bravery de- 
feated them ; and during his long reign of thirty 
7 



9» LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

years no marauding expedition ever afterward 
left his territory. When firmly established in 
power he entered into treaty with the Colonial 
Government, and adhered to all its stipulations 
with unswerving fidelity to the end of his reign. 
Many hundreds of these Griquas, and of the 
Bechuanas, who inhabit this same territory, have 
become Christians through the teaching of mis- 
sionaries, and are partially civilized. Our trav- 
eler was at first somewhat disappointed in them. 
He did not find among them that high degree 
of Christian simplicity and purity he had ex- 
pected ; but when he passed on to the heathen, 
in those countries entirely beyond the reach of 
missionary influence, and compared them with 
these Christian natives, he " came to the conclu- 
sion that if the question were examined in the 
most rigidly severe or scientific way, the change 
effected by the missionary movement would be 
considered unquestionably great." 

•Before the missionaries came among them, 
these Griquas and Bechuanas were clothed like 
the Caffres. A lady's clothing consisted of a 
bunch of leather strings, about eighteen inches 
in length, hung from the waist in front, with a 
prepared skin of a sheep or antelope covering the 
shoulders. The garments of the men were even 
more scanty ; consisting of the same kind of man- 



CHANGES EFECTED. 99 

tie, and a piece of the same material about as 
large as the crown of a hat, worn in front. Now, 
these people attend church in decent garments, 
though somewhat poor and coarse, and behave 
with decorum. Sunday is well observed among 
them. And even in localities where no mission- 
ary lives, religious meetings are held with regu- 
larity. Children and adults are taught by the bet- 
ter educated. And no one is permitted to make 
profession of faith till he can read and understand 
the nature of the Christian religion. Our mis- 
sionary tells us he does not wish any one to un- 
derstand that these people are model Christians. 
He does not even claim that character for him- 
self and others, who have grown up, as these peo- 
ple have not, in an atmosphere of Christian influ- 
ence. He tells us " they are more stingy and 
greedy than the poor at home ; but in many re- 
spects the two are exactly alike." He gives the 
testimony of an intelligent chief, which he thinks 
very nearly correct. On being asked what he 
thought of them, the chief replied, "You white 
men have no idea of how wicked we are ; we 
know each other better than you ; some feign be- 
lief to ingratiate themselves with the mission- 
aries ; some profess Christianity because they 
like the new system, which gives so much more 
importance to the poor, and desire that the old 



100 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

system may pass away, and the rest— a pretty large 
number — profess because they are really true 
believers." 

When our traveler reached the mission station 
Kuruman. he found Mr. Moffat very busy in car- 
rying through the press a copy of the Bible in the 
language of the Bechuanas. This devoted man 
had now been engaged as a missionary in Southern 
Africa for nearly forty years. For thirty years 
he had given attention to the study of this lan- 
guage, having in view the translation of the Word 
of God into the native tongue of these people, 
to whose religious instruction he consecrated his 
life. So copious is this language, that we are 
told that even this man, who has studied it so long, 
never spends a week at his work without discov- 
ering new words. The capability of the language 
is shown by the fact that the Pentateuch is ex- 
pressed in Mr. Moffat's translation, with a consid- 
erably less number of words than are used in our 
English version ; and even in fewer words than 
in the Greek Septuagint. Yet this language is 
simple in its structure. And our traveler does 
not think its copiousness any proof that these 
people have declined from a former and higher 
state of civilization and culture. 

Livingstone was detained at Kuruman about 
two weeks by the breaking of a wagon wheel. 



AFRICAN BA TTLE. I O I 

Thus he was providentially prevented from being 
present at the attack of the Boers on the Bak 
wains, at Kolobeng. During his stay at Kuru- 
man, news of this attack was brought by the wife 
of Sechele. That chief gave an account of the 
battle in a letter, sent by his wife to Mr. Moffat. 

The Boers, numbering four hundred, were sent 
out by Mr. Pretorious, who had lately joined 
them. The natives, under Sechele, defended them- 
selves bravely till the approach of night permitted 
them to flee to the mountains. During the bat- 
tle Masebele, the wife of Sechele, who brought the 
news to Kuruman, was hidden with her infant in 
the cleft of a rock, over which a number of the 
Boers were firing. The muzzles of their guns 
were seen over her head at every discharge. Her 
child beginning to cry, she was terrified lest her 
hiding-place should be discovered, and took off 
her bracelets as playthings to quiet it. Sixty of 
the Bakwains were killed. A number of women, 
and about two hundred of the mission school 
children, were carried off into slavery. 

In their defense the Bakwains killed a numbei 
of the enemy. And as this was the first time 
that Boers had been slain by Bechuanas, Liv- 
ingstone received the credit of having taught them 
how to kill Boers. Hence, in revenge, his house 
was plundered ; which had stood in perfect safety 



102 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

for years, under the protection of the natives. 
The books of a good library — some of which had. 
been the companions of his boyhood, his solace 
in solitude — were all spoiled by tearing out hand- 
fuls of leaves, and scattering them over the place. 
His stock of medicines was smashed ; and the 
furniture and clothing of the family carried off and 
sold at auction to pay the expense of the expe- 
dition. 

Expressing his sorrow for the loss of his li- 
brary, our missionary adds, with genuine English 
pluck : " Yet, after all, the plundering only set 
me entirely free for my expedition to the North, 
and I have never since had a moment's concern 
for any thing I left behind. The Boers resolved 
to shut up the interior, and I determined to open 
the country, and we shall see who have been 
most successful in resolution, they or I." 

The only excuse for this unjust and cruel at- 
tack upon Sechele was his independence, and his 
refusal to prevent English traders from passing 
through his territory. 

The threats of vengeance against Livingstone, 
made by the Boers, for his teaching the Bak- 
wains to shed their blood, had such influence 
upon the natives that no one could be found 
willing to attend him in his journey, for fear of 
being pursued by the Boers. After waiting for 



JOURNEY TO THE NORTH. 1 03 

months he at last found three wagon drivers will- 
ing to risk a journey to the North. These serv- 
ants were the worst possible specimens of na- 
tives, who copy the vices without imitating the 
virtues of civilized people ; but there was no 
choice, as these were the only men to be had, 
and our traveler had waited so long he was glad 
to get away on any terms. George Fleming, a 
colored man, who was going, with the assistance 
of a Cape Town merchant, to establish a trade 
with the Makololo, had succeeded in procuring 
an equal number of servants, and he joined our 
missionary in the journey. 

When they had proceeded about forty miles, 
to Motito, they met Sechele, who told them he 
was on his way to the " Queen of England," to 
seek redress for the wrongs he had suffered from 
the Boers, through the unjust policy of the Colo- 
nial Government. He used all his eloquence to 
persuade Livingstone to accompany him. When 
the difficulties of the journey were pointed out 
to him, to urge him to abandon his project, he 
asked, very pointedly : " Will not the Queen . lis- 
ten to me, supposing I should reach her ?" Liv- 
ingstone replied : " I believe she would listen, but 
the difficulty is to reach her." "Well, I shall 
reach her," said he, and with unshaken purpose 
he ^proceeded on his way. When he reached 



104 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

Bloemfontein he found the British army just re- 
turning from a battle with the Basutos, in which 
both parties claimed the victory. The army 
officers invited Sechele to dine with them, heard 
his story, and gave him a handsome sum of 
money to help him on his journey to England. 
When he reached the Cape, however, his re- 
sources were exhausted, and he was obliged to 
return to his own country, one thousand miles 
distant. Livingstone says of him : " He is very 
dark, and his people swear by 'Black Sechele.' 
He has great intelligence, reads well, and is a 
fluent speaker. Great numbers of the tribes 
formerly living under the Boers have taken 
refuge under his sway, and he is now greater in 
power than he was before the attack on Kolo- 
beng." 

Having bid adieu to Sechele, our travelers 
skirted along the Kalahara Desert, sometimes 
entering it, but taking care to give the Boers a 
wide berth. An unusual amount of rain having 
fallen this year there was a bountiful crop of 
melons. Mr. J. Macabe, whom Livingstone met 
on this journey, informed him that his cattle, in' 
crossing the desert, had subsisted on this fruit for 
twenty-one days, without water. 

During the dry seasons a hot wind blows over 
the desert from the north, which feels as though 



HOT AFRICAN WIND. 105 

it came from an oven. It seldom continues more 
than- three days at a time. When the missiona- 
ries first came to this country, a little over forty 
years since, this wind came loaded with a fine 
reddish sand. Now the sand does not accom- 
pany it, but it is so destitute of moisture that it 
causes the best English furniture and boxes to 
shrink, so that every wooden article imported to 
the country is warped. The electrical condition 
of this wind is such that a bunch of ostrich feath- 
ers held against it, for a few seconds only, be- 
comes as strongly charged as if connected with a 
powerful electrical machine. When this hot 
wind is blowing, and occasionally at other times, 
the electrical condition of the atmosphere is such 
that the motion of a native in his kaross, or fur 
mantle, produces a stream of small brilliant 
sparks. Livingstone tells us the first time he 
noticed this phenomenon was when a chief was 
riding with him. Seeing a part of his mantle, 
which was exposed to friction by the motion of 
the wagon, assume a luminous appearance, Liv- 
ingstone rubbed it briskly with his hand, when it 
gave out bright sparks, attended with a crackling 
sound. " Do n't you see this ?" said he. The 
chief replied : " The white men did not show us 
this. We had it long before white men came 
into the country — we and our forefathers of old." 



106 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

They had witnessed this fact for ages, but it ex- 
cited no inquiry among a people where the hu- 
man mind has lain dormant and slumbering for 
centuries, and where hardly any subject is dis- 
cussed, as Livingstone remarks, " except those 
which have an intimate connection with the 
wants of the stomach." 

On the 31st of December, 1852, our travelers 
reached Litubaruba, Sechele's town. Near the 
village is a cave called Lepelole. It affords evi- 
dence of the existence, in former times, of a gush- 
ing fountain. This cave was thought by the na- 
tives to be the habitation of the Deity '; and for 
this reason no one dared to enter it. When Liv- 
ingstone proposed to explore the lohaheng, or cave, 
the old men said that every one who went in there 
remained forever, adding, "If the teacher is so 
mad as to kill himself, let him do so alone, we 
shall not be to blame." Sechele's declaration that 
he would follow wherever the teacher led filled 
the people with the greatest consternation. Think- 
ing that those who were reported to have per- 
ished in the cave had fallen over some precipice, 
our traveler provided himself and company with 
•lights, ladder, and lines, so as to be prepared for 
any such emergency. But it turned out to be 
only an open cave, with an entrance about ten feet 
square, contracting into two water-worn branches, 



HABITS OF THE OSTRICH. \Q>J 

and these terminating in round orifices, through 
which subterranean streams had flowed. This 
whole country adjacent to the desert, and reaching 
from Kuruman up to the latitude of Lake Ngami, 
has a climate of remarkable salubrity. Mr. Oswell 
thought it much superior to the climate of Peru. 
And our missionary says, "Were it not for the 
expense of the trip, I should have no hesitation 
in recommending the borders of the Kalahari 
Desert as admirably suited for all patients having 
pulmonary complaints. It is the complete antipo- 
des to our cold, damp English climate." 

Leaving the Bakwains, our travelers passed on 
in their northward journey to Motlatsa. Find- 
ihg only a small supply of water here, they were 
obliged to send the oxen across the country to 
the deep well Nkauane. Half of the cattle were 
lost on the way to the well ; and when found again 
they had been five days without water. On these 
plains, over which our missionary traveled, the 
ostrich is often seen quietly feeding on some spot 
where no one can approach him without being 
seen by his watchful eye. This bird seems to 
have a strange fancy that its only safety is to 
prevent its retreat from being cut off at the wind- 
ward. So if it is feeding in a valley open at both 
ends, and a number of men commence running 
toward the end through which the wind comes, 



108 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

though the whole country is open for miles at the 
other end, yet he rushes on madly to get past the 
men, and thus is often speared. If he sees a 
wagon moving along a mile to the windward, he 
thinks it is a plan to entrap him, so he runs wildly 
to get past the train ; often coming so near the 
front oxen, that the travelers get a shot at the silly 
bird. When his course is once chosen, he never 
turns from it, but only increases his speed. 

When feeding, his pace is from twenty to twen- 
ty-two inches ; when walking, but not feeding, 
twenty-six inches ; when running in fright, it is 
from eleven and a half to fourteen feet. Usually 
one can no more follow the motion of its legs 
with the eye than he can the spokes of a carriage 
wheel in rapid motion. Livingstone estimates its 
speed at the rate of twenty-six miles an hour — 
equal to that of the express train on many of 
our railroads. 

The ostrich begins to lay her eggs before find- 
ing a nest. Hence, solitary eggs are found, 
lying forsaken all over the country, and becoming 
the prey of the jackals. The nest, when one is 
selected, is only a hollow a few inches deep, and 
about three feet in diameter. When the Bush- 
men find a nest, they carefully avoid touching 
the eggs, or leaving footprints near them. They 
go up against the wind to the spot, carefully 



IDEAS OF GOD. IO9 

remove a few of the eggs, and by preventing sus- 
picion, keep the ostrich laying for months, as 
domestic fowls are sometimes treated with us. 
The egg has very great vitality. One kept in a 
room at a temperature of 6o° for three months was 
found to have a live chick in it partially devel- 
oped. The flesh is white and coarse. When 
cooked, it resembles a tough turkey. When pur- 
sued by dogs, the ostrich has been known to turn 
upon them and inflict a kick forcible enough to 
break the dog's back. 

The Bakalahari of Motlatsa were very friendly 
to our missionary, and listened with attention 
when he attempted to teach them in their own 
language. But at first, whenever he kneeled down 
to pray, and address an unseen being, the act and 
the position appeared so ludicrous to them, they 
could not refrain from laughter. 

The most degraded of these tribes admit at 
once and universally the existence of God, and the 
doctrine of a future state. When intelligent men 
among the Bakwains were questioned respecting 
their knowledge of these subjects, they scouted 
the idea of ever having been without a pretty 
clear conception of God, and a future state of 
being, good and evil. They say they always re- 
garded as sin all those things which the missiona- 
ries taught them to think sinful, except the having 



1 10 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

more wives than one. Their having no form 
of public worship, and showing so little reverence 
for Deity, have doubtless led some to think them 
entirely ignorant on these subjects. 

Livingstone met an old Bushman at Lotlakani, 
who he at first thought had no conception of 
morality. After eating meat presented him by 
the missionary, he sat by the fire relating his 
adventures. Among these exploits was the kill- 
ing five other Bushmen. "Two," said he, count- 
ing on his fingers, " were females, one a male, and 
the other two calves." " What a villain you are," 
said the missionary, "to boast of killing women 
and children of your own nation ! What will God 
say when you appear before him ?" Much to 
Livingstone's astonishment, he replied : " He will 
say that I was a very clever fellow." But by fur- 
ther conversation the missionary found that 
though he had been employing the word used 
among the Bakwains for God, it was not the 
word so used by the Bushman, who only meant 
by it his Chief Sekomi. Had Livingstone known 
the name of God in the Bushman tongue, the 
mistake would probably never have occurred. 

Leaving Motlatsa, our travelers passed down 
the Mokoko, which was once a flowing stream. 
Crossing the immense salt-pan Ntwetwe, they 
unyoked the tired oxen about two miles beyond 



MO WANA- TREES. 1 1 1 

its northern bank, under a fine specimen of the 
Mowana-tree. It consisted of three branches 
growing from one trunk. At the hight of three 
feet from the ground it was eighty-five feet in cir- 
cumference. Some French savans have argued 
from the supposed age of these trees that they 
must have been growing before the Flood ; and 
hence they reached the conclusion that " there was 
no flood at all." But a careful examination made 
by Livingstone shows, that upon the most liberal 
estimate, made by counting the rings of the larg- 
est of these Mowana-trees, it can not be more 
than one thousand, four hundred years old. 
These trees have a wonderful vitality. The 
natives make a strong cord from the fibers re- 
maining in the bark when pounded ; hence they 
often strip the entire covering of bark from the 
tree, as high as they can reach — but this does 
not, by any means, kill the tree, as it would 
almost any other. In a short time a new bark 
is formed in the way of granulation, and the mis- 
chief repaired. This process of stripping off the 
bark is so often repeated that it is not uncom- 
mon to find the trunk, for five or six feet from 
the ground, smaller in diameter by an inch or 
two than it is farther up. Livingstone affirms 
that no external injury — not even a fire — can 
destroy this tree. He tells us he has seen 



1 1 2 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

instances where it has grown in length after being 
cut down and lying on the ground. Neither can 
the tree be destroyed by injury from within, 
since they are often hollow, and have been found 
with capacity to permit twenty or thirty men to 
lie down and sleep within the hollow of the 
trunk. 

Trees called exogenous grow by successive 
layers of woody fiber on the outside ; in this 
class the inside may be destroyed without affect- 
ing the life of the tree. Another class, called 
endogenous, grows by layers on the inside, and 
an injury to the outside has no effect upon the 
vitality of the tree. The mowana combines the 
powers of both these classes. Each of the lam- 
inae in this tree has its own independent vitality. 
" In fact," says Livingstone, " the mowana is 
rather a gigantic bulb run up to seed than a 
tree." The roots often extend along the surface 
of the ground for forty yards from the trunk of 
the tree, and retain their vitality after it is cut 
down. The wood is so soft and spongy that it 
is difficult to draw out an ax struck in by a 
strong arm. Referring to the argument of the 
French savan just mentioned, Livingstone says : 
" I would back a true mowana-tree against a 
dozen floods, provided you do not boil it in sea- 
water ; but I can not believe that any of these 



OTHER TREES. 113 

now alive had a chance of being subjected to 
the experiment of even the Noachian deluge. 
Though it possesses amazing vitality, it is diffi- 
cult to believe that this great baby-looking bulb, 
or tree, is as old as the pyramids." 

The mopane-tree, which grows upon these 
plains, is remarkable for the little shade, it af- 
fords. Its leaves fold together, and stand nearly 
perpendicular during the heat of the day, so that 
only their edges cast a shadow upon the ground. 
The larvae of a small winged insect abound on 
these leaves, covered with a sweet gummy sub- 
stance. The people use it for food, as they do 
also a large caterpillar, three inches long, which 
feeds upon these leaves. The natives have ob- 
served that this tree is more often struck by 
lightning than others. They say, " Lightning 
hates it," and caution travelers against seeking 
shelter under it when a thunder-storm is near. 
The wood is hard, and of a fine red color. It is 
called iron-wood by the Portuguese. 

The morala-tree has three spines opposite 
each other on the branches. It has never been 
known to be struck with lightning, and is es- 
teemed a sure protection against it. Such are 
the compensations of Providence. Protection is 
placed in immediate proximity with danger. 

Slow progress was made in the journey for 



1 1 4 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

some time, on account of the sickness of four of 
the men of the party. At a place where the 
travelers halted on this account, about the 19th 
of March, the tall grass made the oxen very un- 
easy, and one night they were frightened by a 
hyena, and ran away into the forest. Living- 
stone's Bakwain lad ran away with them. He 
had gone after the oxen to bring them back, but 
lost them in the rush through the flat, trackless 
forest. He followed their trail all the next day 
and night, and on Sunday morning, when Living- 
stone was starting out in search of him he met 
him. Kibopechoe, the lad, had found the cattle 
on Saturday afternoon, had stood by them all 
night, and had made his way through the forest 
without compass or guide, driving about forty 
oxen before him. 

Soon after this the party reached the hill Ngua, 
in south latitude 18 27', and longitude 24 13' 
east. This hill is three or four hundred feet 
high, and being the first they had seen for many 
weeks, our travelers felt like taking off their hats 
to it. The valley on its northern side is pictur- 
esque. The open glade is surrounded by forest 
trees of various hues, while a little stream mean- 
ders through the center. A herd of pallahs, or 
antelopes, of reddish color, were standing on one 
side, gazing at the strangers as they approached. 



AFRICAN GAME. 1 1 5 

Zebras, gnus, and tressebes, in considerable num- 
bers, were near by — some feeding carelessly, and 
some putting on that air of displeasure which 
these animals assume just before they resolve on 
flight. A large white rhinoceros came along the 
valley with his sauntering gait, without seeming 
to notice the intruders. Several buffaloes stood 
under the trees on the side of the valley opposite 
the pallahs. Several of the party were sick, and 
some not likely to recover. Our missionary says : 
" It being Sunday, all was peace, and from the 
circumstances in which our party was placed, we 
could not but reflect on that second stage of our 
existence, which we hope will lead us into scenes 
of perfect beauty. If pardoned in that free way 
the Bible promises, death will be a glorious thing ; 
but to be consigned to wait for the Judgment-day 
with nothing else to ponder on but sins we would 
rather forget, is a cheerless prospect." 

Livingstone's Bushmen now wanted to leave 
him, and as there is little use in trying to thwart 
such independent gentlemen as they, he paid them 
and let them go. The payment, however, fasci- 
nated some strangers who were present ; and they 
volunteered to aid him. The game in this local- 
ity was very tame. Giraffes and koodoos gazed 
with astonishment at our missionary whenever he 
went out with the Bushmen. One morning at 



Il6 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

day-break, a lion came and walked around the 
oxen again and again. Livingstone could only 
get an occasional glimpse at him from the wagon- 
box ; but could not get a shot at him, though he 
was scarcely thirty yards distant. He roared at 
the top of his voice, to frighten the oxen. But 
they continuing to stand still, he at last became 
disgusted, and went away, his roar being still 
heard . for some time in the distance. Our trav- 
eler could not see that he had any mane. And 
hence he thinks the maneless variety of this ani- 
mal can use his voice as well as the others. 
Others were heard to roar, and when they could 
not raise a panic among the cattle, became angry, 
as could be observed in their tones. 

Livingstone does not confirm with his testi- 
mony the prevalent notions of the "king of 
beasts." He says nothing he has learned of the 
lion would warrant the attributing to him either 
the nobleness or ferocity usually ascribed to him. 
A Newfoundland or St. Bernard dog he thinks 
has more nobility. The immense masses of mus- 
cle around the shoulders and jaws of the lion, 
proclaim his great strength.' Still, in this respect, 
he would seem to be inferior to the tiger of India. 
The lion will sometimes take away an ox ; but he 
does not carry it. He drags it on the ground. 
But here are the great traveler's own words : "To 



HABITS OF THE LION. W] 

talk of the majestic roar of the lion is mere ma- 
jestic twaddle. It is indeed well calculated to 
inspire fear, if you hear it in combination with 
the tremendously loud thunder of that country, 
on a night so pitchy dark that every flash of the 
intensely vivid lightning leaves you with the im- 
pression of stone blindness, while the rain pours 
down so fast that your fire goes out, leaving you 
without the protection of even a tree, or the 
chance of your gun going off. But when you 
are in a comfortable house or wagon, the case is 
very different, and you hear the roar of the lion 
without any awe or alarm. The silly ostrich 
makes a noise as loud, yet he was never feared 
by man. On my mentioning this fact some 
years ago, the assertion was doubted, so I have 
been careful ever since to inquire the opinions of 
Europeans, who have heard both, if they could 
detect any difference between the roar of a lion 
and that of an ostrich. The invariable answer 
was they could not, when the animal was at any 
distance. In general, the lion's voice seems to 
come deeper from the chest than that of the os- 
trich, but to this day I can distinguish between 
them with certainty, only by knowing that the 
ostrich roars by day, and the lion by night." 

The African lion is of a tawny color, the male 
being adorned with a heavy mane, suggestive of 



1 1 8 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

great strength. - The face is not much like the 
usual drawings ; .but the nose is prolonged like 
that of a dog. They are often seen in the day- 
time. When thus encountered by the traveler, 
the lion gazes a few seconds, turns around, and 
walks slowly away, looking back over his shoul- 
der. Soon he begins to trot, and when he thinks 
himself out of sight, bounds off like a grayhound. 
When unmolested, there is very little danger of 
their attacking a man by day, or even in clear 
moonlight. When attacking an animal, the lion 
seizes him by the flank, near the hind leg, or by 
the throat. An eland may sometimes be seen so 
artistically and completely disemboweled by a lion 
that he seems hardly torn at all. The contents 
of the abdomen and chest thus taken out, make 
a full meal for the largest lion. The jackal, 
which comes sniffing around, sometimes receives a 
stroke from the lion's paw which lays him dead. 
When the lion is gorged with food, he falls into a 
sound sleep, and is then easily dispatched. 

The reader will find interest in the account of 
an encounter between three lions and a wounded 
buffalo, narrated by an eye-witness : 

" My South African journal is now before me, 
and I have got hold of the account of the lion 
and buffalo affair; here it is : 15th September, 
1846. Oswell and I were riding this afternoon 



LIONS AFTER PRE Y. 1 1 9 

along the banks of the Limpopo, when a water- 
buck started in front of us. I dismounted, and 
was following it through the jungle, when three 
buffaloes got up, and after going a little distance, 
stood still, and the nearest bull turned round. A 
ball from the two-ouncer crashed into his shoul- 
der, and they all three made off. Oswell and I 
followed as soon as I had reloaded, and when we 
were in sight of the buffalo, and gaining on him 
at every stride, three lions leaped on the unfortu- 
nate brute ; he bellowed most lustily, as he kept 
up a kind of running fight, but he was of course 
soon overpowered and pulled down. We had a 
fine view of the struggle, and saw the lions on 
their hind legs tearing away with teeth and claws 
in most ferocious style. We crept up within 
thirty yards, and, kneeling down, blazed away at 
the lions. My rifle was a single barrel, and I had 
no spare gun. One lion fell dead almost on the 
buffalo ; he had merely time to turn toward us, 
seize a bush with his teeth, and drop dead with 
the stick in his jaws. The second made off im- 
mediately ; and the third raised his head, coolly 
looked round for a moment, and then went on 
tearing and biting the carcass as hard as ever. 
We retired a short distance to load, then again 
advanced and fired. The lion made off, but a 
ball that he received ought to have stopped him, 



120 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

as it went clean through his shoulder-blade. He 
was followed up and killed, after having charged 
several times. Both lions were males. It is not 
often that one bags a brace of lions and a buffalo 
in about ten minutes. It was an exciting adven- 
ture, and I shall never forget it. 

" Such, my dear Livingstone, is the plain, un- 
varnished account. The buffalo had of course 
gone close to where the lions were lying down 
for the day ; and they, seeing him lame and bleed- 
ing, thought the opportunity too good a one to 
be lost. 

" Ever yours, 

" FRANK VARDON." 



INCIDENTS OF THE JOURNEY. 121 



CHAPTER V. 

A Curious-Bird's Nest — Crossing the River Chobe — Re- 
ception AT LlNYANTI — JOURNEYING WITH A CHIEF — A 

Fleet of Canoes — The River Leeambye — Summary 
Punishment of Treason — Return to Linyanti. 

LEAVING the lions and buffaloes of our last 
chapter, we will now give attention to- our 
journey. The country over which it now led to 
the North was very beautiful. The grass was 
green, and often higher than the wagons. Vines 
festooned the trees, among which were the pal- 
myro, wild date, the banian, with its drop-shoots, 
and others, which were new to our travelers. 
Then came water-courses — small rivers twenty 
yards wide and four feet deep. They became 
broader and deeper as the party moved forward. 
Elephants, by wading in them, had made many 
deep holes, in which the oxen floundered des- 
perately, breaking the pole of a wagon, and com- 
pelling Livingstone to work for three hours and a 
half in the water up to his breast. 

Coming at last to the river Sanshureh, the 
company halted under a magnificent mowana- 



122 LIVINGS TONE IN AFRICA. 

tree, and began exploring for a ford across the 
stream. So many ineffectual attempts were 
made to cross the river that the Bushmen be- 
came tired of the work. They were kept some 
days by presents, but finally slipped off by night. 
Livingstone now found he could do no better 
than to take one of the strongest of his sick 
companions and cross in a pontoon — the gift of 
Captains Webb and Codrington. Then taking 
with them some provisions and a blanket for 
each, they made their way westward for a dis- 
tance of twenty miles, across a plain covered 
with water ankle deep, with thick grass which 
reached above the knees. At evening they 
came to an immense wall of reeds six or eight 
feet high. When they attempted to force their 
passage through these reeds the water was found 
so deep they were obliged to retreat. They now 
thought they had reached the river Chobe, for 
which they were looking, and where they hoped 
to find some of the Makololo people ; so they di- 
rected their course to some trees seen at the 
South, in order to find a bed and get a view of 
the adjacent country. 

While gathering wood Livingstone found a 
curious bird's-nest, made of live leaves sewed to- 
gether with threads of the spider's web. It ex- 
hibited ingenuity and skill. The threads were 



VEGETABLE GROWTH. 123 

pushed through small punctures, and thickened 
to a knot. Unfortunately this pretty contriv- 
ance was lost. It was the second nest resem- 
bling that of the tailor-bird of India which Liv- 
stone had seen. 

Next morning, by climbing the highest trees, 
they got a sight of a fine large sheet of water, 
but surrounded on all sides with the same im- 
penetrable wall of reeds. This proved to be the 
broad part of the river Chobe, called Zabesa. 
Two islands, covered with trees, seemed nearer 
the broad water than the shore on which they 
stood, and they made an attempt to reach them. 
The reeds through which they had to pass were 
mingled with a peculiar serrated grass, which at 
certain angles cut the hand like a razor. The 
climbing convolulus, with stalks strong as whip- 
cord, tied the mass together. Struggling to 
force a passage through this tangled belt, they 
felt like pigmies. Sometimes the only possible 
way of progress was by both leaning against a 
part, and bending it down till, they could stand 
upon it. There was no ventilation among the 
reeds, and as the sun rose high the heat was 
stifling, and the perspiration streamed off their 
bodies. They were in the water up to their 
knees, and this was refreshing. At last they 
reached one of the islands, after some hours of 



124 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

severe toil. Here they met an old acquaint- 
ance — the bramble-bush. Livingstone's stout 
moleskins were worn through at the knees, and 
the leather pantaloons of his companion were 
torn, and his legs bleeding. Tearing his hand- 
kerchief in two pieces, Livingstone tied them 
around his knees. Now they were met by a 
new difficulty. Great masses of papyrus, eight 
or ten feet high, and an inch and a half in diam- 
eter, stood before them. These were laced to- 
gether by convolvulus so strongly as to resist the 
weight of both of them. At last they found a 
passage made by a hippopotamus, which let them 
out into the clear water. 

Spending the night in a deserted hut, on a 
large ant-hill, and the next morning in exploring, 
they launched their pontoon about midday, and 
paddled on till sunset, upon the river Chobe. 
This stream here was deep, and from eighty to 
one hundred yards wide. All along the wall of 
reeds lined each bank. Just as the brief even- 
ing twilight began, their cheerless prospect of 
spending the night without supper in the boat 
was brightened by the sight of a village on the 
island of Mahonta. It proved to be the village 
of Moremi, one of Livingstone's Makololo ac- 
quaintances, who was now located here. The 
villagers seemed as much astonished as though 




AFRICAN GIRLS. 



CROSSING THE RIVER. 12$ 

they had seen a ghost. In their figurative style 
they said : " He has dropped among us from the 
clouds, yet came riding upon the back of a hip- 
popotamus. We Makololo thought no one could 
cross the Chobe without our knowledge, but here 
he drops among us like a bird." 

The next day they returned across the flooded 
lands in canoes. When they reached the wag- 
ons they found the men had allowed the cattle 
to wander into a small piece of woods infested 
with the poisonous insect tsetse. By this care- 
lessness ten fine oxen were lost. After a few 
days, some of the principal Makololo men from 
Linyanti can;e down to help them over the river. 
They took the wagons to pieces, and ferried them 
across on several canoes lashed together. Then 
they drove the oxen over, swimming and diving 
among them more like alligators than men. On 
the 23d of May, 1853, the party reached Lin- 
yanti, the capital town of the Makololo. 

The population of the town is between six and 
seven thousand. All came out with eager curi- 
osity to see the wagons in motion — a phenome- 
non they had never seen before. Their chief, 
Sekeletu, received the travelers in what was 
there regarded as princely style. A large number • 
of pots of boyaloa, or beer, were set before 
them. Each of the women who brought them 



1 26 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

took a drink to show there was no poison. 
Soon after his arrival at Linyanti, Sekeletu took 
Livingstone aside and urged him to mention 
those things he liked best, and wished to get 
from him. Any thing, either in his town or out 
of it, he said would be freely given, only let it be 
named. Livingstone told him his purpose was to 
teach him and his people, and lead them to be- 
come Christians. But the chief replied he did 
not wish to learn to read the Book for fear "it 
might change his heart, and make him content 
with one wife, like Sechele." Livingstone as- 
sured him the change of heart would make him 
just as happy and contented with one wife as he 
was now with several, and that the whole matter 
would be left to his own voluntary decision. 
" No, no," said he, " I want always to have five 
wives at least." 

The Makololo women work but little. Their 
families are spread over the country as the lords. 
of the land, one or two in each village. They ex- 
ercise lordship over numbers of subjugated tribes, 
who are called Makololo. Their serfs render serv- 
ice of certain kinds to their conquerors, aiding in 
the cultivation of their fields. But the serfdom 
is very mild, since any one unkindly treated can 
easily escape to other tribes. For the most part 
they are treated more like children than slaves. 



WOMEN OF MAKOLOLO. \2? 

No fugitive-slave law can be enforced, and a 
Makololo master, whose ill treatment of his serv- 
ants forfeits their affections, is likely to find him- 
self left some morning without a single servant. 
■The servants have their own land for cultivation, 
and live quite independently. 

The ladies of the Makololo drink large quanti- 
ties of boyaloa, which is very nutritious, and 
gives them a plumpness which they consider 
beautiful. They do not like being seen by per- 
sons of the other sex when at their potations. 
Their beer is made of the grain called durasaifi, or 
holcus sorghum. It is similar to the birsa of the 
Arabs. These ladies cut their woolly hair quite 
short, and delight in having their persons shining 
with butter. For their dress they wear a gar- 
ment made of oxhide, so dressed as to be soft as 
cloth. It reaches to the knees, and is not un- 
graceful. When unemployed, a soft skin mantle, 
thrown across the shoulders, is added to com- 
plete the dress of the lady. For ornaments they 
wear heavy brass anklets, and bracelets both of 
brass and ivory. Sometimes the heavy rings on 
the ankles produce blisters, but this is patiently 
borne for the sake of fashion. Strings of beads 
are hung around the neck. For these the fash- 
ionable colors are light-green and pink. The re- 
ligious services were announced by the herald, 



1 2 8 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

and were often attended by five to seven hundred 
persons. The people behaved with decorum, ex- 
cept at the conclusion of prayer. When they 
kneeled down, those who had children bent over 
the little ones. In fear of being crushed, the chil- 
dren would set up a simultaneous cry. This ex- 
cited a suppressed titter among the women, which 
burst out in a hearty laugh soon as the amen was 
spoken. 

Livingstone's looking-glass was a matter of great 
curiosity to these people. Their remarks elicited 
by the first sight of their own features were of- 
ten quite laughable. They^ were such as these : 
" My ears are big as pumpkin leaves." " What 
a big mouth I have !" " I would have been pretty, 
but am spoiled by those high cheek-bones." One 
man, who came alone, to gaze in quiet at his own 
features, very honestly said to himself, " People 
say I am ugly, and how very ugly I am indeed !" 

The Makololo make shields as well as mantles 
of the hides of oxen. These are .partially dried 
in the sun, and then beaten with hammers till 
dry and stiff. Two broad belts of skin, differ- 
ently colored, are sewed into them lengthwise. 
Sticks, too, are inserted to keep them from becom- 
ing pliable. They afford great protection from 
spears and javelins. They are quite skillful in 
the use of their spears. When they have room 



NA TIVE HOSPITALITY. 1 29 

to run a little distance they can throw them forty 
or fifty yards. Livingstone saw a man who had 
received one in battle in the shin. When the 
battle was over, the blade was found to have 
split the bone, and was driven in with such force 
that it became necessary to press the split bone 
asunder with an ax, in order to get the weapon out. 

While at Linyanti, on the 23d of May, Living- 
stone had his first attack of the prevalent fever 
of the country. Hoping to find some more po- 
tent remedy than his own medicines, he requested 
the aid of one of the chief doctors. But after 
being stewed in vapor baths, and smoked, and 
charmed, he came to the conclusion he could 
cure the fever quicker than they. 

The Makololo made a garden and planted 
maize for the missionary. The corn is pounded 
into fine meal in large wooden mortars. Sekeletu 
supplied him with ten or twelve jars of honey of 
about two gallons each, and an ox every week or 
two. The hospitable chief furnished milk from 
two cows appropriated to the use of the traveler. 
It is the custom of the country for the chief 
thus to entertain strangers who come on business 
with him, and take up their abode in his kotla. 
When strangers have acquaintance with the un- 
der chiefs, as is frequently the case, they turn aside 
to their kotlas, and are entertained in a like manner. 
9 



130 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

These people cultivate a large extent of land 
around their villages, on which they raise holcus, 
sorghum beans, ground-nuts, pumpkins, water- 
melons, and cucumbers. In other parts of the 
country sugar-cane, the sweet potato, and man- 
ioc are added to the list of agricultural products. 
The hoe is the implement of tillage through all 
this country. 

Sekeletu receives tribute from a large number 
of tribes in corn, ground-nuts, spears, hoes, ca- 
noes^ paddles, wooden vessels, honey, tobacco, dried 
fruits, prepared skins, and ivory. These things he 
divides among the crowd of loungers who gather 
about his kotla, reserving only a small portion for 
himself. If he is not more liberal to others than 
himself, he loses popularity. Instances sometimes 
occur in which a person who feels aggrieved, runs 
away to other chiefs. 

One of this class, who fled to Lechulatebe, 
was encouraged by that chief to go to a village on 
the river Chobe and take the tribute which be- 
longed to Sekeletu. This enraged the whole of 
the Makololo. Some of Lechulatebe's people hav- 
ing "come on a visit to Linyanti, a public demon- 
stration was made. About five hundred armed 
Makololo went through a mimic fight. The prin- 
cipal warriors pointed their spears toward the lake, 
where Lechulatebe lives ; and every thrust in 



RETALIATION. 131 

that direction was answered with the simultaneous 
shout from the whole company, " Hoo !" At every 
stab on the ground all yelled out, " Huzz !" 

On such occasions all capable of bearing arms 
are required to muster at the call. In Sebituane's 
time, any one remaining in the house was hunted 
and killed without mercy. 

Lechulatebe repeated his offense, and added to 
it by permitting a song to be sung in his town, as 
an accompaniment to the dances, expressing joy 
at the death of Sebituane. That great chief had 
enjoined upon his people to live in peace with 
those at the lake. Sekeletu felt disposed to adopt 
this advice as his rule of action. But Lechulatebe, 
having got possession of fire-arms, thought him- 
self fully able to cope with the Makololo. His 
people had been deprived of some cattle by Se- 
bituane. And as forgiveness does not take high 
rank among the virtues with these tribes, he 
thought he had a right to make reprisals if he could. 
It is a very difficult thing to make these people 
feel the wickedness of shedding human blood. 
Accustomed to it from infancy, they are callous 
to the enormity of the crime. 

Livingstone, however, used all his influence 
with the Makololo to persuade them that if they 
wished to enjoy peace they must allow others to 
do so. At the same time he sent a message to 



1 3 2 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

Lechulatebe, advising that he give up the course 
he had been following, and especially the song, 
because though the great chief, Sebituane, was 
dead, the arms with which he fought were still alive 
and strong. In obedience to the instructions of his 
father, and for the sake of promoting peace, Seke- 
letu sent ten cows to Lechulatebe to be exchanged 
for sheep. The party who went with the cows 
took hoes with which to purchase goats. In ac- 
cordance with the relative value of these animals, 
Lechulatebe ought to have sent six sheep for each 
cow, but he returned only ten. One of Sekeletu's 
men was found trying to trade his hoes with the 
people of a village, without formal permission 
from Lechulatebe. And this chief punished him 
by compelling him to sit some hours on the broil- 
ing hot sand — at least 130 . This completed the 
breach of amicable relations between the two 
tribes. However, Livingstone's great influence 
with the Makololo prevented their going to war 
with that tribe of Bechuanas, which had given 
them so much offense, and for which they mani- 
festly felt a supreme contempt. 

When Livingstone took his departure from Lin- 
yanti, he was accompanied to the Barotse country 
by Sekeletu and about one hundred and sixty 
attendants, consisting of young men, and several 
under-chiefs. The country over which they passed 



TRAVELING CARAVAN. 133 

was perfectly flat, with the exception of occasional 
patches elevated a few feet above the gen- 
eral level, and the numerous mounds on which 
gigantic ant-hills were, or had been situated. 
The industry of the little workers, who build 
these little structures, is marvelous. The Mako- 
lolo find the ant-hills choice spots for growing 
early corn, or any thing on which they wish to 
bestow especial care. The soil seems to have fer- 
tility imparted to it by passing through the 
mouths of the ants. In this part of the country, 
these mounds were covered with date-trees, which 
bear a small fruit. The Makololo, having abund- 
ance of food, take no pains to preserve the wild 
fruit-trees, and so whenever a date-tree is filled 
with fruit, they cut it down, to save the trouble 
of climbing to gather the dates. 

This company of travelers constituted rather a 
romantic-looking caravan. The long line of Ma- 
kololo attendants wound along the meandering 
foot-path, now and then partially hidden from 
view, behind the mounds, with the ostrich feathers 
of their caps waving in the wind. Some of the 
men had the white ends of oxtails for plumes, 
instead of ostrich feathers, and some caps were 
made of lion's manes. Some wore red tunics. 
Some had tunics of various colored prints, which 
the chief had bought of Fleming, the colored 



1 34 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

trader. The common men carried burdens. The 
gentlemen walked with a small club of rhinoceros 
horn in their hands, accompanied by servants, 
who carried their shields. The Machaka, or bat- 
tle-ax men, carried their own shields and weap- 
ons, and were liable to be sent off at any time on 
an errand a hundred miles away, when they would 
be expected to run all the way. Sekeletu is al- 
ways attended by his own mopato, or body-guard, 
consisting of a number of young men of his own 
age. When he sits down they crowd around 
him. Those nearest eat out of his dish. The 
Makololo chiefs pride themselves on eating with 
their people. The chief eats a little, then beck- 
ons his neighbors to partake. When they have 
done so, he may beckon some one at a distance 
to share in the mess. The person thus invited 
immediately comes forward, takes the pot and re- 
moves it to his own companions. 

Sekeletu rode on Livingstone's horse, and his 
comrades, wishing to imitate him, leaped on 
the backs of some half-broken Batoka oxen. But 
having no saddles or bridles they were very fre- 
quently tumbled off, to the great amusement of 
the rest of the party. Herds of "lechwes" — a 
species of water antelopes — were feeding care- 
lessly all oyer these flats. 

Whenever a village was reached in the journey, 



MAKOLOLO CUSTOMS. 135 

the women all gathered to welcome their chief. 
By a rapid motion of the tongue they make their 
shrill voices tremulous, while they shout, " Great 
Lion," " Great Chief," " Sleep my Lord," etc. The 
men give similar salutations, all of which Sekeletu 
received with dignified indifference. After conver- 
sation of a few minutes, during which the news is 
related, the head man of the village, nearly always ' 
a Makololo, rises and brings forth a number of 
large pots of beer. Calabashes are used as drink- 
ing cups, and as many as can partake of the bev- 
erage, clutching the drinking cups so eagerly that 
they are in danger of being broken. Large bowls 
of thick milk are also presented to the company. 
These bowls sometimes contain six or eight gal- 
lons. They, as well as the pots of beer, are each 
given to a particular person, who may divide them 
as he pleases. Spoons are not in fashion, and the 
milk is conveyed to the mouth by the hand. 
Livingstone sometimes presented his friends with 
spoons. They were delighted with them, but 
still ate with the hand, dipping with the spoon 
into the left hand, and eating out of that. 

The Makololo have abundance of cattle. The 
chief has cattle stations all over the country. 
From these he selects an ox or two, to feed those 
who accompany him. Or he may be supplied by 
way of tribute by the head men of the villages 



I36 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

he visits. The cattle are killed by a small javelin 
thrust into the region of the heart. The object of 
the butcher is to shed as little blood as possible, as 
this with the internal parts of the animal belong 
to him. For this reason all are eager to render 
service of this kind. Each tribe has its own 
way of cutting up and distributing an animal. 
Among the Bakwains the breast belongs to the 
chief. Among the Makololo the hump and ribs 
are his perquisites. After the oxen are cut up, 
the different joints are placed before the chief, 
and he distributes them among the gentlemen of 
the party. The whole is very quickly divided 
among their attendants, and by them cut into 
long strips, and thrown upon the fire. Half 
broiled, and burning hot, the meat is handed 
round. They do not aim at any enjoyment in eat- 
ing, but to get as much as possible into the stom- 
ach, while the rest are cramming themselves. 
No one is allowed to eat after the others have fin- 
ished. So no one gets a chance to masticate his 
food but the chief. They despise any one who 
eats alone. So Livingstone, at his meals, always 
poured out two cups of coffee — of which he had 
a good supply — and invited the chief or some one 
of the principal men to share with him. They all 
soon became very fond of this beverage. Seke- 
letu relished it very much, and said, -"I know 



MAKOLOLO HOUSES. 1 37 

your heart loves me, because I find my own heart 
warming to your food." He had been visited 
by some traders and Griquas, during Living- 
stone's absence at the Cape. " Their coffee," he 
said, " did not taste half so nice, because they 
loved his ivory, and not himself" — a novel and 
original method of discriminating characters. 

Livingstone and Sekeletu had each a little 
gipsy tent in which to sleep. But in some of the 
villages the mice disturbed his sleep by running 
over his face ; or hungry dogs prowling around 
ate up his shoes, leaving nothing but the soles. 
Then he got the loan of a hut for protection 
from these annoyances. The best of the Mako- 
lolo huts are made with three circular walls, with 
small holes for doors, like that of a dog-house, 
through which you must creep on all-fours, bending 
down the body at that. The roof is made of reeds 
and straight sticks, bound firmly together with 
circular bands, which are secured with the strong 
inner bark of the mamosa-tree. In shape it is 
like a Chinaman's hat. Over all is a thatch-work 
of fine grass, sewed together with the bark just 
mentioned. This projects beyond the walls, and 
reaches within four feet of the ground. These huts 
are very cool in the hottest days, but at night are 
close and defective in ventilation. The huts of 
the Makaloka are infested with vermin. But 



138 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

those of the Makololo are kept clean by frequently- 
smearing the floors with a plaster made of earth 
and the droppings of the cattle. The bed is a 
mat of rushes sewed together with twine. When 
game was wanted, Livingstone did the hunting, 
because the Makololo wasted his powder with 
bad shooting. On one occasion he shot a beauti- 
ful cow-eland, which he found standing in the 
shade of a fine tree. She had evidently just lost 
her calf by the voracity of a lion. On her hind- 
quarters were long, deep scratches, as if she had 
been attacked herself, the lion failing to pull her 
down. When lying on the ground the milk 
flowed from the large udder. It was a new unde- 
scribed variety of this beautiful antelope. It was 
marked with narrow, white bands across the body, 
and a black spot of more than a handbreadth on 
the outer side of the forearm. Lebeole, a Mako- 
lolo gentleman, who accompanied the missionary 
on this hunt, speaking of the beauty and size of 
the splendid animal just shot, said, "Jesus ought 
to have given us these instead of cattle." 

After some delay in gathering canoes, our large 
company of travelers began to ascend the river 
Leeambye. Livingstone had his choice of the 
whole fleet, and selected a canoe thirty-four feet 
long by twenty inches wide. It was not the larg- 
est, but the best. He had six paddlers, while the 



PADDLING CANOES. 1 39 

larger canoe of Sekeletu had ten. They stand 
erect and keep stroke with great precision, chang- 
ing from side to side as the direction they wished 
to go may demand. The strongest and most ex- 
pert men stand at the head and stern. The canoes 
are flat-bottomed, and will float in very shallow 
water. The paddles are about eight feet long, and 
are used as poles to push the boats when they 
strike shallow water. The fleet consisted of thir- 
ty-three canoes, manned by about one hundred 
and sixty men. Skimming along so rapidly, the 
paddlers keeping time so admirably, it was a 
beautiful sight. The relation of the Makololo 
and Makaloka is changed somewhat when they 
are on the water. Here the latter are more inde- 
pendent. They fear their masters less, and can 
not be prevented from racing with each other ; 
sometimes dashing along at such a rate as to en- 
danger the lives of their lords. Should a canoe 
capsize many of the Makololo would go to the bot- 
tom like stones. On the day the fleet started a 
case of this kind occurred. The wind blowing 
strongly from the east raised large waves on the 
river. An old Makololo doctor had his canoe 
filled with water, and being unable to swim, was 
drowned. The Barotse who were in the canoe 
swam to the shore, and were saved. They were 
afraid of being punished with death for not saving 



I40 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the doctor. Had he been a man of considerable 
influence their fears would undoubtedly have been 
realized. The fleet proceeded rapidly up the river, 
a magnificent stream, more than a mile wide in 
many places. The banks are lined with forest ; 
most of the trees nearest the edge of the water 
sending down roots from their branches, like the 
banian or Fiats Indica — the numerous islands so 
densely covered with forest, that at a little dis- 
tance they " seem great rounded masses of silvan 
vegetation reclining on the bosom of the glorious 
stream." The beauty of the scenery of some of 
the islands is greatly increased by the date-palm, 
with its gracefully curved fronds and refreshing 
light-green color, near the bottom of the picture, 
and the lofty palmyra towering far above, and 
casting its feathery foliage against a cloudless sky. 
" It being Winter, we had the strange coloring on 
the banks which many parts of African landscape 
assume." Many villages of the Banyeti, a poor 
and industrious people, are seen dotting the 
shores. Livingstone felt great pleasure in look- 
ing upon scenery so beautiful, which had never 
been looked upon before by a European. The 
soil is of a reddish color ; and very fertile, as is 
shown by the large quantities of grain raised by 
the inhabitants of these villages. They are skill- 
ful hunters of the hippopotamus and other game ; 



MANUFA CTURES. 1 4 1 

and manufacture many articles of wood and iron, 
with a great deal of taste and skill. Some make 
large wooden vessels with neat lids, and wooden 
bowls of various sizes. And since the Makololo 
have adopted the fashion of sitting on stools, 
these Banyeti have shown much ingenuity in the 
varied forms given to the legs of these pieces of 
furniture. This whole country is infested with 
the tsetse, so that domestic animals can not be 
kept. Perhaps this may account in part for the 
skill in handicraft exhibited by its inhabitants. 
Other of these tribes excel in the manufacture of 
iron and pottery, while others make neat and 
strong baskets from the split roots of trees. 
They have never been warlike. 

In the center of the country, out of the range 
of the slave-trade, there have very seldom been 
wars involving any other questions than the pos- 
session of cattle. Some tribes even refuse to 
keep cattle simply on this ground. Livingstone 
tells us he has heard of but one war originating 
in any other cause. Three brothers among the 
Barolongs went to battle, and fought for the pos- 
session of a woman. And the quarrel resulted in 
the permanent division of the tribe. 

As they passed up the river, the inhabitants of 
the different villages came out to- present their 
tribute to Sekeletu, in the form of food and skins. 



I42 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

At Gonye, where there is a large village of Ban- 
yeti, the river falls about thirty feet. The water 
of the stream, before making the leap, is narrowed 
to the space of seventy or eighty yards ; and thus 
the roar of the cataract is very loud. Here they 
were obliged to take the canoes out of the water, 
and carry them for a mile up the stream. In 
this task the people of Gonye were required to 
assist. 

The Barotse valley, as it is called, through 
which this river runs, has a very close resem- 
blance to the valley of the Nile. It is annually 
inundated by the overflow of the river Leeambye, 
just as lower Egypt is flooded by the Nile. The 
villages are built on mounds, some of which are 
said to have been raised artificially by a former 
chief. During the annual inundation the whole 
valley appears like a large lake, with the villages 
for islands. The valley is very fertile. One spe- 
cies of grass was seen twelve feet high, with a 
stam as thick as a man's thumb. The immense 
herds of cattle kept by the Makololo never eat off 
the pasturage. This was Sekeletu's first visit to 
this part of the country since his elevation to the 
chieftainship. Those who had taken part with 
Mpepe, who had set up a claim to that position, 
were now in very great terror. 

When they came to the town of Mpepe's father, 



SANTURU. I43 

as he and another man had advised the killing of 
Sekeletu, they were taken and tossed into the 
river. When Livingstone remonstrated against 
this off-hand way of taking human life, the coun- 
selors justified their act by the evidence in the 
case, and calmly added, " You see we are still 
Boers ; we are not yet taught." 

N aliele, the capital of the Barotse, is built on 
a mound, constructed by an ancient chief, San- 
turu. This was his store-house for grain, while 
his own capital stood about five hundred yards 
south, where is now the bed of the river. The 
same thing has happened to the sites of other 
towns. This chief, at whose ancient granary 
our company are resting, was a famous hunter, 
and fond of taming wild animals. Some of his 
people, it is said, who were accustomed to bring 
him every young antelope they could catch, cap- 
tured on one occasion two young hippopotami, 
which they presented to him. These animals 
gamboled in the river by day, but never failed to 
come up at night for their suppers of milk and 
meal. They were the wonder of the country, 
till a stranger, who came to visit Santuru, saw 
them reclining in the sun, and speared one of 
them, thinking they were wild. A like misfor- 
tune happened in Livingstone's case. He had 
brought a pair of cats to Sekeletu. A stranger, 



144 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

seeing an animal new to himself, killed it, and 
brought the trophy to the chief, thinking he had 
made a wonderful discovery. 

Satisfied by this exploration that no healthy 
location could be found for a mission station 
where the Makololo could live in peace, Living- 
stone returned to Linyanti, after a tour of nine 
weeks. He had been, during this time, in closer 
contact with heathenism than ever before. And 
this produced, as he tells us, a more intense dis- 
gust for it, and a higher appreciation of the indi- 
rect benefits or latent effects of missions. These 
savage men, from the chief to the poorest of 
them, were all very kind to him, "yet," he says, 
" to endure the dancing, roaring, and singing, the 
jesting, anecdotes, grumbling, quarreling, and 
murdering of these children of nature, seemed 
more like a severe penance than any thing I had 
before met with in the course of my missionary 
duties." 



JOURNEY TO LOANDA. 145 



CHAPTER VI. 

A Picho — Voyaging on the River — Alligators and their 
Eggs — A Female Chief — Grand Reception — A Magic 
Lantern at Court. 

LIVINGSTONE now began preparations for 
a journey to Loanda. And as the Makololo 
were desirous to open a trade directly with the 
sea-coast, he proposed to them to join in the 
expedition. A " picho " or public meeting was 
called, to deliberate upon the matter. The larg- 
est liberty of speech is allowed in these assem- 
blies. And on this occasion an old diviner, fa- 
mous for being a croaker, such as may be found 
in other parts of the world, said, "Where is he 
taking you to ? This white man is throwing you 
away. Your garments already smell of blood." 
Sekeletu laughed at him, and the general voice 
was in favor of the missionary's plan. A band 
of twenty-seven men was appointed to accompany 
him to the west. The three men he had brought 
from Kuruman had frequent relapses of fever, 
and required waiting upon instead of rendering 
any service ; so he determined to send them south 
10 



146 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

with Fleming, whenever he should finish his trad- 
ing so as to return. Livingstone himself was de- 
bilitated by the fever he had suffered. A strange 
giddiness affected him. Whenever he looked up 
suddenly toward the sky every thing seemed 
whirling to the left. And if he did not save him- 
self by catching hold of some object he fell heav- 
ily to the ground. 

The Makololo now put the question to him, 
"In the event of your death will not the white 
people blame us for having allowed you to go 
away into an unhealthy, unknown country of ene- 
mies ?" He told them ■ he would leave a book 
with Sekeletu to be sent to Mr. Moffat in case he 
did not return, which would explain the whole 
matter, and free them from blame. 

This book was a volume of his journal, which, 
with a letter to Mr. Moffat, Sekeletu delivered to 
a trader, when Livingstone was detained longer 
than he expected. But he never heard of it aft- 
erward. This was matter of much regret, as it 
contained many valuable notes on the habits of 
wild animals, with other matters of interest. His 
own feelings, in view of the possibility of death in 
that barbarous land, are thus expressed : " The 
prospect of passing away from this fair and beau- 
tiful world thus came before me in a pretty plain, 
matter-of-fact form, and it did seem a serious 



EQUIPMENTS. 1 47 

thing to leave wife and children — to break up all 
connection with earth, and enter on an untried 
state of existence ; and I find myself in my jour- 
nal pondering over that fearful migration which 
lands us in eternity, wondering whether an angel 
will soothe the fluttering soul, sadly flurried as it 
must be on entering the spirit-world, and hoping 
that Jesus might speak one word of peace, for 
that would establish in the bosom an everlasting 
calm. But as I had always believed that if we 
serve God at all it ought to be done in a manly 
way, I wrote to my brother, commending our lit- 
tle girl to his care, as I was determined to ' suc- 
ceed or perish in the attempt to open up this part 
of Africa.' The Boers, by taking possession of 
all my goods, had saved me the trouble of mak- 
ing a will ; and considering the light heart now 
left in my bosom, and some faint efforts to per- 
form the Christian charity of forgiveness, I felt it 
was better to be the plundered party than one of 
the plunderers." 

Livingstone had found that the secret of suc- 
cessful travel lay in having as few impediments 
as possible. Hence the outfit for this journey 
was very spare. It consisted of a few biscuits, a 
few pounds of tea and sugar, about twenty 
pounds of coffee, a cannister of medicines, a nau- 
tical almanac, Thompson's Logarithms, a Bible, a 



148 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

few good scientific instruments, a gipsy tent just 
large enough to sleep in, a sheep-skin mantle, a 
house-rug for a bed, a magic lantern, three mus- 
kets for the men, a rifle and double-barreled 
smooth-bore for Livingstone, and a scanty ward- 
robe to be used when they reached civilized life. 
With this equipment they left Linyanti, to embark 
on the river Chobe. Sekeletu and his principal 
men accompanied the travelers to the river, to see 
that every thing was right at the start. The chief 
lent his own canoe to Livingstone. The river is 
much infested with hippopotami. They are not 
dangerous except when a canoe comes into the 
midst of a herd when they are all asleep. Then 
in their fright they may strike a canoe and break 
it in pieces. Occasionally, too, elderly males are 
driven out from the herd by the rest, and com- 
pelled to live alone. These solitary "old bache- 
lors" very naturally acquire a morose temper, 
which prompts them to attack every canoe that 
passes near them. In case of such an attack, the 
canoe being wrecked, the natives dive to the bot- 
tom of the river, holding themselves down a few 
seconds. The hippopotamus looks on the surface 
of the water for the occupants of the boat he has 
smashed, and not seeing them, soon moves off. 
Then the submerged men rise to the surface and 
make their escape. Having left the Chobe, our 



PUNISHING CULPRITS. 1 49 

travelers ascended the Leeambye, and on the 
19th of November reached the town of Sesheke. 

The town is composed of parties of various 
tribes. But the Makololo rule over them all. 
There is a large population of Makalaka. Mori- 
antsane, a brother-in-law of Sebituane, is the rul- 
ing chief. His rule is mainly despotic. Yet it 
is modified by certain laws and customs. A cul- 
prit, who had speared an ox belonging to one of 
the Makololo, being unable to extract the spear, 
was thereby caught. He was bound hand and 
foot in the burning sun, to force him to pay a 
fine. He, however, persisted in denying his guilt. 
At last his mother, believing him innocent, came 
forward, and with her hoe in hand, threatened to 
cut down any one who should interfere. She 
then unbound him, and took him home. The 
chief did not punish this resistance to his author- 
ity, but referred it to Sekeletu, at Linyanti. 

A stranger having come to this village on a 
trading expedition, most of his goods were stolen 
by one of the Makaloka. When caught he con- 
fessed the theft. The Makololo gentlemen were 
greatly enraged at the thought of having the rep- 
utation of their village stained by such treatment 
of a stranger. Their customary mode of punish- 
ment had been to throw the criminal into the 
river. But this would not restore the lost property. 



150 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

So they referred the case to Livingstone. He 
solved the difficulty by paying . for the goods 
from his own pocket, and sentencing the thief to 
work out an equivalent with his hoe in a garden. 
This method of punishment was at once adopted 
by the natives, and thieves are now condemned 
to raise an amount of corn proportioned to their 
crimes. A Bakwain woman, who had stolen from 
the garden of another, was compelled to give her 
own garden to the person she had injured. 

These people have no regular day of rest, ex- 
cept the day after the first appearance of the 
new moon. Then they only refrain from going 
to their gardens. They watch with intense eager- 
ness for the earliest glimpse of the new moon, and 
when, after the sun has set, they catch the faint 
outline of the pale orb of night, they utter a loud 
shout, " Kna," and vociferate prayers to the moon. 
Livingstone's men, on this occasion, shouted, 
" Let our journey with the white man be pros- 
perous ! Let our enemies perish, and the chil- 
dren of Nake become rich ! May he have plenty 
of meat on this journey!" 

Livingstone made frequent public addresses to 
the people of Sesheke, under the outspread 
branches of a camelthorn-tree, on the river's 
bank. The sight was pleasant as the men, wo- 
men, and children came out from different parts 



A T GONYE FALLS. 1 5 I 

of the town, winding their way in long lines, 
each party led by its head man. They often 
numbered five or six hundred persons, who were 
gathered in this native temple to listen to the 
missionary. For the most part they were very 
attentive. On one occasion Moriantsane, the 
chief, thinking to please the missionary, hurled 
his staff at the heads of some young fellows 
who, instead of listening, were improving the 
time in working at a skin of some kind they 
were dressing. 

Sometimes the hearers would ask the most 
sensible questions, and at other times they would 
turn immediately from listening to the most sol- 
emn truths and introduce the most frivolous non- 
sense. Some begin in secret to pray as soon as 
they hear of the white man's God, and, though 
they have very imperfect notions of what they 
are doing or the proper method of prayer, they 
are doubtless heard by that merciful God who 
would have all men feel after him and find him, 
and who pitieth all who fear him like as a father 
pitieth his children. 

Passing through a beautiful country, the trav- 
elers reached Gonye Falls the 30th of Novem- 
ber, 1853. They were much wearied with travel. 
The weather was extremely hot, and the season 
so dry that, though the trees were robed in their 



1 5 2 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

gayest dress, and numerous flowers were bloom- 
ing, yet the midday sun caused all the leaves to 
droop and the whole landscape to look languid 
for want of rain. 

Would you like to know a little more in de- 
tail the method of proceeding on this journey? 
Then take one day as a specimen of the rest. 
Just at the dawn of day — a little before five 
o'clock — the company rise. While the mission- 
ary is at his morning toilet coffee is prepared. 
While he and the principal men are sipping their 
coffee the servants are busy loading the canoes, 
and immediately they embark for the day's sail. 
These morning hours are the most pleasant of 
the whole day, and the stout, broad-shouldered 
Barotse boatmen paddle swiftly along. About 
eleven o'clock the party land, and make their 
dinner from any meat that has remained from 
the supper of the previous night, or, if not so 
fortunate, they eat biscuit with honey, and drink 
•weter. An hour of rest, and they launch away 
upon the river again. Livingstone seeks some 
slight protection from the burning rays of the 
sun by cowering under an umbrella. The men, 
exposed to the intense heat while they toil at the 
paddles, perspire profusely, and in the afternoon 
grow faint and languid. All are glad to stop two 
hours before sunset, if a suitable place can be. 



ON THE JOURNEY. 1 53 

found. Again they refresh themselves with cof- 
fee. Biscuit, or coarse bread of Indian meal, or 
that of the native corn make up the bill of fare. 
If they have been fortunate enough to kill game 
during the day, the meat is cut up in long strips, 
placed in a kettle, and water poured on it in suf- 
ficient quantity to cover it. When it is boiled 
nearly dry the dish is ready. 

Next comes the work of preparation for the 
night's lodging. Mashuana, the head boatman, 
plants the poles of the little tent. These poles 
are used during the day for carrying burdens, as 
occasion may require. A bed is made of grass, 
with boxes placed along each side, and the tent 
spread over the whole. A few feet in front of 
this tent, which is Livingstone's sleeping apart- 
ment, is the kotla fire. The wood for this fire is 
gathered by the man who holds the position of 
herald, who claims the heads of all the game and 
oxen killed by the party as the perquisites of his 
office. The head boatman makes his bed at the 
door of the tent. While sleeping or waking, the 
two Makololo men place themselves at the right 
and left of the missionary. The servants divide 
into small companies, according to their tribes, 
and build sheds around the fire. These sheds 
are built with poles resting on forked posts to 
form the front. Branches of trees are stuck in 



1 54 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the ground in an inclined position, and the twigs 
tied with bark to the horizontal pole. The front 
pf the shed is toward the fire. The roof is cov- 
ered with long grass. A large horseshoe shaped 
space is left in front for the cattle to stand in. 
In less than an hour after the preparations begin 
they are usually all under cover. Except when 
the moon shines very brightly, the fire is a nec- 
essary protection against wild animals. Even 
the oxen understand this, and are less easily 
frightened when in sight of the fire. 

The people of the villages through which our 
missionary passed on this journey were, for the 
most part, exceedingly kind and generous in 
their conduct toward him. They gave him lib- 
eral supplies of butter, milk, and meal, with occa- 
sionally the present of an ox. They presented 
these gifts very gracefully. When an ox was 
given the generous donor would say, "Here is a 
little bit of bread for you." 

Part of the company marched along the banks 
with the oxen, and a part were in the canoes, 
the speed of travel being governed by the men 
on shore. Their task was sometimes hard and 
difficult, because they were often obliged to cross 
the numerous streams flowing into the Leeambye 
River. The alligators were much too plenty in 
these streams for the safety of the men, who 



ALLIGATORS. 1 55 

were frequently under the necessity of swim- 
ming them. One of these swimmers was one 
day caught by an alligator and dragged to the 
bottom. But his presence of mind did not for- 
sake him even then. Having with him a small 
javelin with a ragged edge, he gave his new ac- 
quaintance an unwelcome stab behind the shoul- 
der, which sent him away writhing in pain. Re- 
leased from the grasp of his enemy, the man 
came out, with deep marks of the ugly reptile's 
teeth on his thigh. 

Among the Bakwain and Bamangwato tribes 
such an accident would have worse consequences 
than among these people. There, if one is bitten 
by an alligator, or even has bad water splashed 
over him by the reptile's tail, he is expelled from 
his tribe. They eat the flesh of the zebra with- 
out any reluctance ; yet, if a man is bitten by 
one, he is expelled from the tribe, and compelled 
to take away his family to the Kalahari. These 
are curious relics of the animal worship of former 
times, which have scarcely any existence among 
the Makololo. 

Along the Barotse Valley, through which our 
travelers passed, they saw great numbers of large 
black geese. There were, too, myriads of ducks, 
of two varieties. Livingstone's canoe came one 
day near a bank where a large flock were sitting. 



1 5 6 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

Two shots were fired, and seventeen ducks and 
a goose were picked up as the result. Thus the 
whole party were furnished with a full supply of 
game for supper. On some parts of the journey 
they met enormous herds of antelopes, and other 
game. Flocks of green pigeons and many new 
kinds of birds were seen. On one of the Sab- 
baths spent during this expedition Livingstone's 
men, who wandered about after morning worship, 
brought him several varieties of wild fruit he 
had not seen before. One called mogametsa is 
a kind of bean, with a small quantity of pulp 
around it which tastes like sponge cake. An- 
other kind, which grows in great abundance on 
a low bush, is called mawa. Many of these 
fruits our traveler thinks might, with careful 
culture, take high rank among the fruits of the 
world. 

On the 27th of December our party reached 
the confluence of the Leeba and Leeambye Riv- 
ers. After some delay in arrangements for the 
return of captives who had been taken from dif- 
ferent tribes by their enemies, and whom Liv- 
ingstone had succeeded in rescuing, the travelers 
left the main stream and began the ascent of 
the Leeba. This river flows calmly and slowly 
through charming meadows, each one of which 
has a soft, sedgy center, a large pond, or a rill 



ALLIGA TOR'S NEST. 1 5 7 

trickling through the middle. Numerous little 
streamlets come pouring in their tributary waters 
on either side. The trees on the banks are 
planted in groups with a gracefulness and beauty 
which no human art could excel. They are cov- 
ered with a fresh, luxuriant foliage. Beautiful 
flowers are blooming, while busy bees, in large 
numbers, sip their nectar. Plenty of honey is 
found in the woods. 

One tree in bloom brought back to the mis- 
sionary's recollection the fragrance of English 
hawthorn hedges. The leaves, fragrance, flow- 
ers, and fruit "resembled those of the hawthorn, 
only the flowers were as large as dog-roses, and 
the 'haws' like boys ? marbles." 

The next night after reaching the mouth of 
the Leeba our party of travelers built their fire 
in a deserted alligator's nest. Broken shells were 
strewed all around. The eggs of the alligator 
are about the size of those of a goose, but are of 
equal diameter at both ends. Livingstone tells 
us he has seen sixty of them taken from one 
nest. A broad path led up from the water's 
edge to the nest, a distance of about ten feet. 
There were indications that this same place had 
been used for several previous years. When the 
alligator leaves her nest after filling it with eggs, 
she covers them with about four inches of earth. 



1 5 8 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

No further attention is needed till the proper 
time for the brood to hatch. Then she returns 
and aids the young in getting out of shell and 
nest. She then leads them to the edge of the 
water, and leaves the family to catch fish for 
themselves. The yolk of these eggs is eaten by 
the natives. The young which had lately come 
out of these nests were not very shy. They 
were about ten inches long, with yellow eyes, 
and pale green and brown stripes, half an inch 
wide, across the body. When speared they ut- 
tered a sharp bark, like that of a young pup, 
and bit the spear very fiercely. Fish constitute 
the principal food of the alligator. In this part 
of Africa they are more savage and do more 
mischief than elsewhere. Young men who run 
down to the river to refresh themselves by bath- 
ing, after a long dance in the moonlight, are 
sometimes caught by these reptiles and carried 
off. Yet their comrades repeat the night bath- 
Jhg, and seem to have no fear. If they escape 
from an encounter of this kind, they only laugh 
afterward at the circumstance. They are too 
thoughtless to be troubled with fear. 

About the first of January the rainy season 
set in, with heavy rains almost every day. For 
two weeks the sky was so constantly covered 
with clouds that Livingstone was unable to get 



A FEMALE CHIEF. 1 59 

a single observation for determining latitude or 
longitude. 

Our travelers now reached the village of the 
female chief Nyamoana, said to be a sister of 
Kabompo, or Shinte, the greatest chief of the 
Balonda in this part of the country. When the 
travelers approached, this lady chief and her 
husband, Samoana, were sitting on skins placed 
in the middle of a circle raised a little above the 
level of the ground, about thirty paces in diame- 
ter, and having a trench around it. The husband 
was clothed in a red and green baize kilt, and 
armed with a spear and an antique broad-sword 
eighteen inches long and three in width. Out- 
side the trench sat about a hundred persons of 
both sexes and all ages. The men were armed 
with spears, bows, arrows, and broad-swords. 
Livingstone and his men put down their arms 
about forty yards away, and he walked up to the 
middle of the circular bench and saluted Samo- 
ana, according to the fashion of the country, by 
clapping his hands. He, however, pointed to his 
wife, to indicate that the honor belonged to her. 
She was then saluted in the same way, and, a 
mat having been brought, Livingstone seated 
himself in front of them. 

A talker was now called, and Livingstone, be- 
ing asked who should speak for him, pointed to 



l60 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

his man Kolimbota, who knew their dialect best. 
The palaver now began in due form. Kolimbota 
delivered to Nyamoana's talker what Livingstone 
said, he repeated it verbatim to her husband, and 
he to the chief herself. The reply came back 
from the lady in the" same roundabout way. 
After a full and frank statement of the views 
and objects of the missionary, and repeated ex- 
planations, the palaver came to a close. 

Straight hair is a great curiosity among these 
people, and, as a means of gaining their confi- 
dence, Livingstone showed them his hair. "Is 
that hair ?" said they. " It is the mane of a lion, 
and not hair at all" — and some of them thought 
he had made a wig of a lion's mane. 

Here the missionary found the first evidence 
of idolatry he had seen. It was an old idol left 
in a deserted village — simply a human head 
carved on a block of wood. When they have 
no professional carver, a crooked stick answers 
fhe same purpose, and becomes an idol. These 
people are more superstitious than any Dr. Liv- 
ingstone had before met 

The missionary traveler was anxious to pro- 
ceed further up the Leeba with the canoes, but 
Nyamoana wished her people to conduct him to 
her brother Shinte. To the arguments in favor 
of traveling by water she replied that her brother 



MANENKO. l6l 

did not live near the river, and there was a cat- 
aract a little further up the river over which it 
would be difficult to convey the canoes. She 
was afraid, too, that the Balobale, being ignorant 
of the objects of the travelers, would kill them, 
or, if they did not harm Livingstone, would sac- 
rifice his Makololo attendants as enemies to their 
tribe. This argument convinced his companions 
of the propriety of Nyamoana's plan. 

Just at this time the arrival of Manenko — an- 
other female chief, and a niece of Shinte — threw 
so much weight into the scale in their favor that 
Livingstone thought best to yield. 

Manenko was a large, tall woman, about twenty 
years of age, with a great profusion of ornaments 
and medicine charms hung about her person. 
Her body was smeared all over with a mixture 
of red ocher and fat as a protection against the 
weather. This became necessary from her most 
frightful nakedness. It was not, however, from 
any inability to clothe herself, since, being a 
chief, she could have been clad as well as any of 
her subjects. But this was the fashion of the 
Balonda ladies, and suited her ideas of elegance. 
She was attended by her husband, Sambanza, 
who acted as her spokesman. They listened for 
some time to the statements of the missionary. 
Then Sambanza began an oration giving the 



1 62 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

reasons of the chief for coming. During his 
speech he picked up a little sand every two or 
three seconds and rubbed it on the upper part of 
his chest and arms. This is a common method 
of salutation in Londa. When the oration was 
ended he rose up and showed the bundles of 
copper rings with which his ankles were deco- 
rated. Some chiefs wear so many of them that 
they are forced to keep one foot apart from the 
other, and adopt a straggling gait. And this 
is imitated by gentlemen like Sambanza. He 
strutted along as if his few ounces of ornaments 
were double as many pounds. When Living- 
stone smiled at this folly the people said, "That 
is the way in which they show off their lordship 
in these parts." 

Our travelers moved on toward the town of 
Shinte under the conduct of Manenko, who led 
the march at a rate of speed which few of the 
men could maintain. Livingstone, being on ox- 
feick, was able to keep up with her; and, as the 
rain came pouring down upon them incessantly, 
he took occasion to ask her why she did not 
clothe herself during the rain. In reply she told 
him that it was thought improper for a chief, 
male or female, to appear effeminate. He or 
she must maintain the appearance of hardy and 
robust youth. Every now and then the men 



SPECIMEN OF AN IDOL. 1 63 

remarked, in admiration of her pedestrian pow- 
ers, "Manenko is a soldier;" and all, being wet 
and cold, were glad when she called a halt for 
the night. 

The country through which they were passing 
was covered with evergreen forests, interspersed 
with open lawns, on which were luxuriant crops 
of grass. 

Numerous villages and hamlets were passed 
on this journey. It was common to see near 
each of them an idol, made of clay and grass, in 
the form of an alligator. Yet it is called a lion. 
Shells are inserted to form the eyes, and bristles 
from the tail of an elephant are stuck on the 
neck. It stood in a shed. And in cases of sick- 
ness the Balonda beat drums and pray before it 
all night. Some of the villages were found de- 
serted, the inhabitants having been seized with 
sudden panic. Manenko's drummer beat his 
drum the greater part of the time to announce 
the coming of great people. When our travel- 
ing party remained all night at a village the peo- 
ple kindly lent them the roofs of their own huts.- 
They are shaped like a Chinaman's hat, and can 
be readily lifted off the wall. They were brought 
to the spot selected by the travelers for lodging, 
and propped up with stakes. Then they were 
safely housed for the night. 



164 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA, 

The party were delayed among some Balonda 
villages a little south of the town of Shinte, that 
Manenko might send messengers to inform her 
uncle of their approach. Livingstone asked why 
this was necessary, since, according to the belief 
of the country, the idols of the chief might give 
the information. The reply was, "she did it 
only," a form of expression which means she did 
.it without any particular reason. Our mission- 
ary remarks in connection with this incident, " It 
is seldom of much use to show one who worships 
idols the folly of idolatry without giving some- 
thing else as an object of adoration instead. 
They do not love them ; they fear them, and be- 
take themselves to their idols only when in per- 
plexity and danger." 

Livingstone was suffering with fever, and was 
much annoyed by this delay ; and, as he felt sure 
the reply from Shinte would be favorable, and this 
was Saturday, he urged that the party should go 
forward, so as to spend Sunday at the town, and 
not lose two days by waiting. "No, it is our 
custom," was Manenko's reply, and all he could 
say was answered in the same " pertinacious lady 
style." 

On Sunday afternoon messengers came from 
Shinte, who expressed his approbation of the 
objects had in view by the travelers in their 



ENTERING THE TOWN. l6$ 

journey through the country, and his pleasure at 
the prospect that a way would be opened for the 
visits of white men, giving him opportunity to 
purchase ornaments of them at pleasure. 

The next day, when Manenko thought the sun 
was high enough to make a lucky entrance, the 
party came into the town. They found it em- 
bowered in banana and other tropical trees of 
broad leaf. The streets present a remarkable 
contrast to those of the Bechuana towns in the 
fact that they are straight. Here Livingstone 
for the first time saw native huts with square 
walls and round roofs. Around the huts were 
courts or yards, inclosed with fences remarkably 
straight, which were made with upright poles 
neatly interwoven with grass or leafy bushes. 
In these courts were small plantations of tobacco, 
sugar-cane, bananas, and a little salinaceous plant 
used as a relish. The Balonda, among whom we 
now are traveling, are real negroes, having much 
more wool on their heads and bodies than any of 
the Caffre or Bechuana tribes. They are gener- 
ally of very dark color, but occasionally one may 
be seen of lighter hue. The greater part of them 
have thick lips, flat noses, and heads elongated 
backward and upward. 

On Tuesday, about eleven o'clock, Shinte hon- 
ored his visitors with a grand reception. The 



1 66 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

kotla, or place of audience, was about one hund- 
red yards square. Near one side stood two grace- 
ful banian trees. Under one of these Shinte sat 
upon a sort of throne which was covered with a 
leopard's skin. He was dressed in a checked 
jacket, and a kilt of scarlet baize edged with 
green. On his head he wore a helmet made of 
beads neatly woven together, and crowned with 
a large bunch of goose-feathers. Armlets and 
bracelets of iron and copper covered his limbs, 
and many strings of large beads hung from his 
neck. Close to him sat three lads with large 
quivers of arrows resting on their shoulders. 

When our friends entered the kotla the whole 
of Manenko's party saluted Shinte by clapping 
their hands, and Sambanza did obeisance by rub- 
bing his arms and chest with ashes. Livingstone 
and his party retired to one of the unoccupied 
trees, for the sake of the shade. They were in 
good position to witness the whole ceremony, 
being about forty yards from the chief. The dif- 
ferent sections of the tribe now came forward 
and saluted the chief by clapping the hands, the 
head man of each company making obeisance 
with ashes, after the fashion just mentioned. 
Then came the soldiers, with drawn swords, and 
armed to the teeth, twisting their faces, to look 
as savage as possible, and shouting, and running 



THE RECEPTION. 1 67 

toward the white man and his party, with the 
apparent purpose of testing their courage. Find- 
ing the strangers were not to be frightened in 
that way, they turned round, saluted Shinte, and 
retired. 

When all were seated, the curious capering 
usually seen at pichos began. A man starts up 
and imitates the most approved movements and 
attitudes of an actual battle. He throws a jave- 
lin, receives another on his shield, springs to 
one side to avoid a third ; he then leaps and 
runs backward and forward. This ceremony 
over, Sambanza and the spokesman of Nyamo- 
ana stalked back and forth in front of Shinte, 
relating in a loud voice all they had been able to 
learn of the white man and his people. They 
spoke of his connection with the Makololo, the 
return of the captives, the Bible as the Word of 
God, the desire to open the country for trade, 
the wish for the tribes to live in peace, adding 
he ought to have taught the Makololo that first, 
for the Balonda had never attacked them, yet 
they had assailed the Balonda ; perhaps he is 
fibbing, perhaps not ; but as Shinte had never 
done harm to any one, and the Balonda had 
good hearts, he had better receive the white 
man well and send him on his way. 

Sambanza was very gayly attired, having a 



1 68 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

cloth so long that a boy carried it as a train. 
He had, too, a profusion of beads. 

Behind Shinte were seated about one hundred 
women dressed in red baize. The principal wife 
of Shinte sat in front, with a curious red cap 
on her head. During the pauses between the 
speeches these ladies chanted a sort of plaintive 
ditty, but whether it was applause of the speak- 
ers themselves, or Shinte, the visitors could not 
tell. A party of musicians went round the kotla 
several times. It consisted of three drummers 
and four performers on the piano, or "marimba." 
This instrument "consists of two bars of wood 
placed side by side, here quite straight, but fur- 
ther north bent round so as to resemble half the 
tire of a carriage wheel ; across these are placed 
about fifteen 'wooden keys, each of wliich is two 
or three inches broad and fifteen or eighteen 
inches long." The thickness of the bars "is reg- 
ulated according to the deepness of the note re- 
quired. Each of the keys has a calabash beneath 
it ; from the upper part of each a portion is cut 
off, to enable them to embrace the bars, and form 
hollow sounding-boards to the keys, which also are 
of different sizes, according to the note required, 
and little drumsticks elicit the music. Rapidity 
of execution seems much admired among them, 
and the music is pleasant to the ear. In Angola 



PUBLIC RECEPTION. 1 69 

the Portuguese use the marimba in their dances." 
Their drums are beaten with the hands. They 
are neatly carved from the trunk of a tree. A 
small hole in the side is covered by a bit of a 
spider's web. The head is made of antelope 
skin. It is tightened by holding it to the fire 
till the heat contracts it. 

Nine speakers made orations. Then Shinte 
and all the people stood up. The chief had 
maintained true African dignity during the whole 
ceremony. Livingstone's men noticed, however, 
that Shinte had kept his eyes on the white man 
all the while. About one thousand persons were 
present at this " picho," or public meeting for the 
reception of the white missionary. 

The following night Livingstone was awak- 
ened, at an unseasonable hour, by a message 
from Shinte requesting a visit. Kolimbota, his 
guide, thought he ought to go, but he, being 
sick with fever, refused to do so, insisting- that 
he ought to have some choice in the matter. 
He "was neither a hyena nor a witch, and hated 
words of the night and deeds of darkness." This 
highly offended the guide. 

At ten next morning they went, and were 
conducted into the courts of Shinte. The walls 
of the inclosure were of woven poles, very neat 
and high. Within it many trees were planted. 



I JO LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

affording a grateful shade. They sat beneath a 
Ficus India tree, which showed its relationship 
to the banian of India by sending down shoots 
toward the ground. The chief soon came, hav- 
ing the appearance of a man about fifty-five 
years of age, of medium hight, with a frank, 
open countenance. He seemed in good temper, 
and said he had expected on the day before, at 
the reception, "that a man who came from the 
gods would have approached and talked to him." 
And this had been Livingstone's intention ; but 
the sight of Shinte's own men keeping at such a 
distance from him, and the formidable prepara- 
tions led him to yield to the solicitations of his 
party, and remain by the tree where they first 
seated themselves. This remark, however, con- 
firmed the missionary in his previous opinion 
that with these Africans a frank and. fearless 
bearing is the most winning. During this inter- 
view Livingstone stated the object of his jour- 
ney, and the chief expressed his approval by 
clapping his hands. He then replied through a 
spokesman, and all present responded by clap- 
ping hands. 

When the more important business was dis- 
patched, Livingstone asked the old chief if he 
had ever seen a white man before, when he re- 
plied, " Never ; you are the very first I have ever 



sickness. iyi 

seen with a white skin and straight hair ; your 
clothing, too, is different from any we have ever 
seen." On learning from some of his people 
that " Shinte's mouth was bitter for want of tast- 
ing ox-flesh," Livingstone made him a present of 
an ox, with which he was greatly delighted. He 
advised the chief to open a trade in cows with 
the Makololo. This advice he afterward adopted. 

When Manenko heard of the gift of an ox to 
her uncle, she came to our friend the missionary 
and insisted that she had been slighted and 
wronged ; that " this white man belonged to her ; 
she "had brought him here, and therefore the ox 
was hers, not Shinte's." She then ordered her 
men to slaughter it, and presented Shinte with a 
leg only, and he did not resent her action in the 
matter. 

Next morning Livingstone was awakened early 
with a message from the chief inviting him to 
another interview, but the raging thirst of a high 
fever having been just alleviated by sudden per- 
spiration, he declined the honor for a few hours. 
When he did go Shinte could not be found — 
most likely because the divination was unfavora- 
ble. When he had returned to bed another mes- 
senger came to inform him that "Shinte wished 
to say all he had to tell him at once." The offer 
was too tempting to decline. The chief met him 



1 72 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. . 

with a present of a fowl, a basket of manioc 
meal, and a calabash of mead. He said these 
attacks of fever were the only thing which would 
hinder the success of the journey, for he had 
men who would guide the white man, and who 
knew all the paths to the sea. He himself had 
traveled when young. When asked what he 
would recommend for the fever, he said, "Drink 
plenty of the mead, and as it gets in it will drive 
the fever out." He seemed to like the remedy 
very much when he had no fever. It was pretty 
strong. 

Shinte had always been a friend to Sebituane, 
and now that his son Sekeletu was in his place 
he was more than a friend — a father — to him. 
He was highly pleased with the large calabashes 
of clarified butter which Sekeletu had sent him, . 
and wished to retain Kolimbota, that he might 
send back a present to Sekeletu by his hands. 
Livingstone afterward discovered that this prop- 
osition originated with Kolimbota himself. He 
wished to escape the danger to which he might 
be exposed by the ferocity of the tribes through 
which they were to pass, of which he now heard 
a great deal. 

The Balonda of this village were remarkably 
punctilious in their manners. Whenever they 
meet their superiors on the street they drop 



SLAVE CUSTOMS. 1 73 

upon their knees and rub dust on their arms 
and chest. Sambanza kneeled in this way while 
the son of Shinte was passing him. The woman 
who draws water for the chief rings a bell to 
warn all persons to keep out of her way, lest 
they might exert an evil influence upon the 
drink of the great chief. It would be a very 
grave offense to come near her when bearing 
water for her lord. The effect of the slave-trade 
in this part of the country upon the public con- 
science is seen in the custom which prevails of 
selling the poor or their children to the Mambari, 
or half-breed Portuguese traders. An instance 
illustrating the custom occurred during Living- 
stone's visit. A young man of Lobale fled into 
the country of Shinte, and located himself with- 
out first reporting to the chief. For this offense 
he was seized and offered for sale. No chief in 
the south would have treated him in this way. 
All of the attendants of our traveler were horri- 
fied at the act, and the Makololo and Barotse 
both declared that if the Balonda knew how 
their chiefs treated fugitives there would be very 
few of the discontented remaining with Shinte. 
Another incident of a similar kind, totally unlike 
any thing which occurs among the southern tribes, 
may be mentioned. Two children, of seven years, 
living about a quarter of a mile from the village, 



1 74 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

went out from their home but a short distance 
to gather a little firewood, and were kidnapped. 
The afflicted parents could find no trace of them. 
There were no beasts of prey, and it took place 
so near the town that our missionary suspected 
it was the work of some of the men high in rank 
at Shinte's court. In such cases the parents 
have no redress. Even Shinte himself seems to 
have been engaged in this same infamous trade. 
One night he sent for Livingstone and presented 
him with a slave girl about ten years old, saying 
he was always in the habit of presenting his vis- 
itors with a child. The missionary thanked him 
for his expression of kindness, but told him he 
thought it wrong to take away children from 
their parents, and desired him to give up this 
system altogether, and trade in ivory, beeswax, 
and cattle. He urged that she was "to be a 
child" to bring him water, and that a great man 
ought to have a child for such a purpose. When 
Livingstone replied that he had four children, 
and should feel very sorry if his chief should 
take his little girl from him and give her away, 
and that he preferred the little girl should re- 
main and bring water for her mother, he sent for 
one a head taller, thinking he was dissatisfied 
with the first. This was likewise declined, with 
many explanations of the evil of slavery. 



MA GIC LANTERN. 1 7 5 

An amusing and interesting scene was wit- 
nessed when Livingstone exhibited his magic 
lantern in the presence of Shinte, his principal 
men, and the same crowd of court ladies who 
graced the grand reception with their presence. 
The chief was very anxious to see the pictures, 
but on account of his own illness our traveler 
was obliged to put him off for several days. 
When at last he was able to gratify this eager 
desire, the first picture shown was that of Abra- 
ham offering up his son Isaac. The picture was 
shown as large as life. The knife was uplifted, 
and just in the act of striking the lad. The 
Balonda men said the picture was more like a 
god than the things of clay and wood which 
they worshiped. Livingstone explained to them 
that this man was the first of a race to whom 
God had given the Bible. The women listened 
in silence and awe. But when the slide was 
moved the upraised dagger moved toward them. 
They thought it was to be buried in their bodies 
instead of Isaac's, and they all shouted at once, 
"Mother, mother," and ran away pellmell, tum- 
bling over tobacco bushes, idol huts, and each 
other in their fright. Shinte sat bravely through 
the whole exhibition, and then examined the in- 
strument with great interest ; but the ladies could 
not be coaxed back again. 



I j6 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

Careful explanations were given, so that no 
one should think there was any thing supernatu- 
ral about it. "It was the only mode of instruc- 
tion," says our missionary, "I was ever pressed 
to repeat. The people came long distances for 
the express purpose of seeing the objects and 
hearing the explanations." 

Heavy showers were now falling every day, 
and the long-used tent had become rotten and 
leaky. Surgical instruments were rusted, cloth- 
ing mildewed, shoes moldy, and bedding wet. 
The sunshine only lasted a short time in the 
afternoon. Thus was our traveler delayed in his 
preparations for a start on his continued journey. 



STRONG DRINK. 1 77 



CHAPTER VII. 

A Princely Gift— Manioc— Superstition of the Na- 
tives — Katema — Birds— Spiders — Ants — Swimming a 
River — Prospect of a Fight. 

ON the morning when Livingstone expected 
to renew his journey Sambanza was sent 
off early for the guides. But he returned about 
midday, drunk, and without them. "This was 
the first case of real babbling intoxication we 
had seen in this region. The boyaloa, or beer 
of the country has more of a stupefying than 
exciting nature ; hence the beer-bibbers are great 
sleepers ; they may frequently be seen lying on 
their faces, sound asleep. This peculiarity of 
posture was ascribed by no less an authority 
than Aristotle to wine, while those who were 
sent asleep by beer were believed ' to lie on their 
backs.' " The mead such as Shinte had pre- 
sented his guest the other day is much stronger 
than boyaloa. It was excessive drinking of this 
that intoxicated Sambanza. 

Just before his departure Shinte came to the 
white man's tent for a last interview. He looked 



178 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

with very great interest at the looking-glass, 
books, quicksilver, hair-brushes, comb, watch, 
and other curiosities. He pointed out the prin- 
cipal guide, whom he said he had ordered to re- 
main with the missionary till he reached the sea. 
But this language was figurative somewhat. Af- 
ter reaching the next chief, Katema, the guides 
were to return, but the good words they would 
speak in Livingstone's behalf to that chief would 
help him on to the sea. The white man had 
now left Sekeletu far behind, he said, and must 
now look, to Shinte alone for aid. During this 
interview Shinte closed the tent, that none of his 
people might witness his extravagance, and then 
drew out from his clothing a string of beads and 
the end of a conical shell which is valued very 
highly among the natives as evidence of distinc- 
tion. He hung it around the neck of his guest, 
saying, "There, now you have a proof of my 
friendship." These shells are prized so highly 
that a slave may be bought for two of them, and 
five would be regarded as a handsome price for 
an elephant's tusk worth fifty dollars. 

Eight of Shinte's men accompanied our party 
of travelers to aid in carrying the luggage. They 
passed in a northerly direction down the lovely 
valley in which the town stands. Then bearing 
to the west, they passed through a beautiful open 



CASSAVA. 179 

forest, and spent the night at a Balonda village. 
The country through which they passed was 
much like that before described on this jour- 
ney — flat, with open forests. During the first 
day's travel a fine range of green hills was seen 
off to the right, abounding in iron ore, which is 
worked by Shinte's people. 

In every valley villages of from twenty to 
thirty huts were found, surrounded by gardens 
of manioc or cassava. This root is the staff of 
life in this region of country. It is very easily 
cultivated. The earth is thrown up in oblong 
beds about three feet in width. In these beds 
pieces of manioc stalk are planted four feet apart. 
Beans or ground nuts are sown between them. 
When these are harvested the ground is cleared 
of weeds. In from ten to eighteen months the. 
manioc roots are fit for food. But there is no 
necessity that they be gathered immediately, as 
they are good and edible for three years. Then 
they become bitter and dry. Every part of the 
plant is useful. The leaves may be cooked like 
a vegetable. The stalk grows to a hight of six 
feet. When a woman digs up the roots she 
plants a piece or two of the upper stalk in the 
hole she has made, and a new crop begins. 

The roots are twelve to eighteen inches long, 
and three or four in diameter. There are two 



l8o LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

varieties, one sweet and wholesome, the other 
bitter and containing poison. This last-named 
variety is of much more rapid growth, which 
secures its perpetuation. The natives extract 
the poison by placing it four days in a pool of 
water. It then becomes partially decomposed. 
It is now taken out of the water, the skin 
stripped off, and the root' exposed to the sun. 
When dried it is easily pounded into a fine white 
meal which resembles starch very closely, both 
in flavor and appearance. Often, however, it has 
a little of the peculiar taste caused by partial 
decomposition. When used as food the manioc 
meal is stirred into boiling water, one man stir- 
ring the porridge, while another holds the kettle. 
Livingstone represents it as being just about as 
palatable as starch made from diseased potatoes. 
But this is the common food of the country, 
and he was obliged by hunger to eat it. He 
could barely manage to swallow it sweetened 
with a little honey. 

Intemese, the chief guide furnished by Shinte, 
sent messages to the villages along the route 
that the friends of their chief must have abund- 
ance of provisions. To these orders the people 
responded with liberality, presenting Livingstone 
and his attendants with far more food than was 
furnished by Shinte himself. 



SUPERSTITIOUS USAGES. l8l 

It was soon observed that these new guides 
were far more careful and particular in their 
notions of etiquette than the tribes farther south. 
They gave food to Livingstone and his Makololo 
attendants, . but would not take it from them 
when they had cooked it. Nor would they eat in 
the presence of these their superiors. The Ma- 
kololo, accustomed at home to the most free and 
easy manners, frequently offered handfuls of food 
to any of the Balonda who happened to be near. 
But they would not taste it. They are very 
punctilious in their manners toward each other. 
Each hut has its own fire. And when it goes 
out, they will not take from a neighbor, but kir- 
dle it afresh for themselves. Many of these cus- 
toms, doubtless, arise from superstitious fear. 

Away from the villages, in the deep, dark for- 
ests, instead of the idols representing the head of 
a lion, or man, or the crooked stick smeared with 
medicines, there are outlines of human faces cut 
in the bark of the trees, closely resembling those 
seen on Egyptian monuments. Offerings of ma- 
nioc roots, or ears of corn, are placed on branches. 
Every few miles you find heaps of sticks, on 
which each one passing throws a branch, after 
the fashion of cairns, in ancient Britain. Some- 
times a few sticks are placed on the path, and 
each traveler turns aside, and a sudden bend is 



1 82 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

made in the road. The minds of these people 
seem filled with fear and dread of superior be- 
ings, whom they fancy reside in these gloomy 
forests. And hence, these offerings are made to 
propitiate them. 

The dress of the Balonda men is made of the 
skins of the smaller game, such as the jackal, or 
wild cat. They are dressed so as to be soft and 
pliable, and hung from a girdle around the loins. 
"The dress of the women is of a nondescript 
character ; but they were not immodest." 

On the 7th of February the travelers reached 
the village of Soano Molopo, a half-brother of 
the chief Katema. When visited, he was found 
sitting with about one hundred men around him. 
Although private information had, undoubtedly, 
been given him, he called upon Intemese for 
some account of the white man and his compan- 
ions. And in reply to the statements of the 
guide he said, "The journey of the white man is 
vtry proper ; but Shinte has disturbed us by 
showing the path to the Makololo who accom- 
pany him. He ought to have taken them through 
the country without showing them the towns. 
We are afraid of the Makololo." He then gave 
his visitors a handsome present of food. Inte- 
mese, by telling this chief what Livingstone had 
given to Shinte and others, by importunities and 



A FRICAN FAMIL Y. 1 8 3 

threats, tried to force the gift of an ox to Soano 
Molopo. And when the company were ready to 
move onward the guide refused to start. So 
they packed up and went on without him, leav- 
ing him to overtake them at his leisure. His 
principal value to them was in introducing them 
to the villagers as they passed along ; prevent- 
ing any alarm on account of their visit, and 
speaking a good word for them, which had con- 
siderable influence with the natives. 

Heavy rains were falling, and they were glad 
to make booths for shelter at the house of Moz- 
inkwa. He was a most intelligent and friendly 
man, belonging to the chief Katema. His chil- 
dren were very black, but comely. They were 
all by one mother. And Livingstone says they 
"were the finest negro family I ever saw." He 
had a fine, large garden in cultivation. The 
fence around his courtyard was made of the 
banian, which, taking root, had grown to a live 
hedge. His wife had cotton growing around 
her premises, with the castor-oil plant, relishes 
of various kinds, and a larger shrub which yields 
a purgative oil. The generous, frank friendship, 
and liberal hospitality of this man and his wife 
would have won admiration if shown by the 
most civilized people. Mozinkwa's wife asked 
Livingstone to bring her a cloth from the white 



1 84 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

man's country. But when he came that way 
again she was in her grave. These natives can 
not bear to live on a spot where a favorite wife 
has died. They only visit it afterward, to pray 
to her, or make some offering. In accordance 
with this custom, Mozinkwa had abandoned his 
garden, trees, and huts to ruin. 

After leaving this hospitable mansion, while 
crossing a river, the travelers were met by a mes- 
senger from Katema, named Shakatwala. He 
was a sort of steward, such as these native chiefs 
each have attached to their person. They are 
generally poor, but men of shrewdness and abil- 
ity. He informed our travelers that Katema had 
received no definite information respecting him, 
but if his objects were peaceful he was invited 
to come to the town of the chief, as Katema 
loved strangers. 

Crossing the river Sotembwa, they came to 
the town, about eight miles beyond. It was a 
group of villages rather than a town. They were 
conducted about a half mile from the houses, to 
prepare lodgings for themselves ; while Inte- 
mese, the guide, was taken to the chief, to un- 
dergo examination as to the character and ob- 
jects of the white man and his companions. 
Katema soon sent them a present of food. Next 
morning a formal presentation to the chief was 



KATE MA 185 

granted. Katema was seated on a sort of throne, 
with about three hundred men sitting on the 
ground around him, and thirty women — his 
wives — close behind him. The main body of the 
people were seated in a semicircle, about fifty 
yards distant. The head man of each party 
stood a little in front, ready to come near the 
chief at his call, for council. Intemese now gave 
an account of the white man. Katema then pre- 
sented sixteen large baskets of meal, half a dozen 
fowls, and a dozen eggs, expressing his regret 
that the strangers had slept hungry. " Go home," 
said he, " cook and eat ; and then you will be in 
a fit state to speak to me at an audience I will 
give you to-morrow." 

This chief is a tall man, about forty years old. 
He was dressed in a snuff-brown coat, with a 
broad band of tinsel running down the arms. 
On his head was a helmet of beads and feathers. 
He held in his hand a large tail, made of the 
caudal extremities of several gnus. This wand 
has charms attached, to defend his person from 
evil influences. He waved it constantly. He 
seemed in good spirits — indulging frequently in 
a hearty laugh. This Livingstone thought a 
good sign ; as a mirthful man is seldom hard to 
deal with. 

At his visit next morning, Katema addressed 



1 86 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the traveler with these words, "I am the great 
Moene or lord Katema, the fellow of Matiamvo. 
There is no one in the country equal to Mati- 
amvo and me. I have always lived here, and my 
forefathers too. There is the house in which 
my father lived. You found no human skulls 
near the place where you encamped. I never 
killed any of the traders. They all come to me. 
I am the great Moene Katema of whom you 
have heard." Livingstone thought he looked as 
though he had fallen asleep when tipsy, and had 
been dreaming of his greatness. On making 
known his objects, the chief immediately offered 
him three guides, who he said would conduct 
the white man by a new route, avoiding the wa- 
ter-covered plains on the ordinary path of the 
traders. "This was more suited to our wishes, 
for we never found a path safe that had been 
trodden by slave-traders." Livingstone, in these 
words, is not very complimentary to the traders, 
but quite as much so as they deserve. 

Katema had a herd of about thirty splendid 
cattle. Livingstone complimented him on their 
possession, and told him how he might milk the 
cows. The cattle are mostly white, and quite 
wild, running off at the approach of a stranger, 
with the graceful ease of a herd of elands. The 
Makololo admired them very much. It seemed 



BIRDS OF SONG. 1 87 

strange that all the people did not possess cattle, 
in a country which furnished such luxuriant pas- 
turage. 

Katema made no offer of an ox, as a Makololo, 
or Caffre chief would have done. So our party 
were obliged to slaughter one of their own. 
After living so long on the light Balonda por- 
ridge and green corn, a supply of beef was highly 
relished. 

Birds of song are abundant here, especially 
near the villages — making the mornings cheer- 
ful with their merry chorus. Canaries -are nu- 
merous, with the back colored a yellowish-green, 
a darker longitudinal band meeting in the center, 
and a narrow, dark band passing from the bill 
over the eye, and back to the bill again. A 
pretty little songster, a species of canary, called 
" cabazo," is kept in cages by the natives. When 
asked why they kept them in confinement, they 
replied, " Because they sing sweetly." The cages 
are very neatly made, having traps on the top to 
catch other birds. It seems remarkable there 
should be such numbers of feathered songsters 
in a country where there is such a scarcity of 
game and all animal life. There are none of the 
larger kinds of fowls. The rivers contain very 
few fish. Common flies are less plenty than in 
other parts of the country, and musketoes are 



1 88 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

rarely numerous enough to disturb the sleep of a 
weary man. 

But the country is not free from all insect 
plagues. When just falling asleep one night, 
Livingstone felt something running across his 
forehead, and putting up his hand to brush it 
away, was sharply stung both on the hand and 
the head. When a light was brought, it was 
found the mischief had been wrought by a light- 
colored spider, about half an inch in length. The 
pain occasioned by the bite ceased in about two 
hours, without any remedy. The Bechuanas 
believe there is a black spider in the country 
whose bite is fatal. No instance of death from 
this cause was known to Livingstone during his 
whole stay in the country. There is, however, a 
large, hairy, black spider frequently seen, an inch 
and a quarter long, and three-fourths of an inch 
broad ; having a process at the end of its front 
claws, similar to that at the end of a scorpion's 
tail ; and when the bulbous part of it is pressed, 
the poison oozes out at the point. There are 
several varieties of spiders in the south, which' 
seize their prey by leaping upon it from a dis- 
tance of several inches. When frightened they 
can leap a foot. 

A large, reddish spider hunts its prey in a 
style peculiar to itself. It does not lie in ambush 



SPIDERS. 189 

or catch its game at a single bound. It runs 
about with very great rapidity, dodging in and 
out, behind and around every object, seeking 
what it may devour. Its great size and rapid 
movements make it frightful to any one not well 
acquainted with its habits. Yet it does no harm. 
The natives call it selali. It is believed to be 
the maker of an ingenious hinged cover for its 
nest. You see a door about the size of an En- 
glish shilling, and on the inside, which is lying 
upward, it is made of a white, silky substance, 
like paper. It lies beside a deep hole. Attempt- 
ing to lift it, you find it fastened by a hinge on 
one side. When you turn it over the hole, it 
fits exactly, and the outer side is coated over 
with earth, just like that around the mouth of 
the nest ; so that when the door is closed it is 
impossible to detect it. Hence the nest is never 
seen except when its owner is out — having left 
the door open. 

Another variety of spider is a large, beautiful, 
yellow-spotted insect, which makes a web a yard 
in diameter. The lines on which the web is sus- 
pended are about the size of coarse thread, and 
extend from one tree to another. Still another 
kind of these busy insects makes its webs so 
numerous and thick as often to hide the trunk 
of a tree from sight, or cover a piece of hedge 



190 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

so completely with them that its branches can 
not be seen. 

The ants in this country maintain the reputa- 
tion of their species, for wisdom. They live on 
these low water-covered plains; where the whole 
country is submerged so large a portion of the 
year that the lotus, and other water plants, ma- 
ture. They maintain their existence by building 
little houses of black, tough loam, on stalks of 
grass, above the line of inundation. These up- 
per chambers must, of course, be built during 
the dry season, for only then could they obtain 
the material for building. Who taught the ants 
this wisdom and foresight, so that they anticipate 
the coming flood ? 

But let us return to our journeying. Crossing 
the watery plains to the dry lands beyond, our 
company found themselves on the watershed, be- 
tween the northern and southern rivers. The 
villages here own the authority of the chief Ka- 
lende. At the first village the travelers were 
treated very kindly, and the guides Katema had 
furnished turned back. 

Passing on from this village our company 
passed through a beautiful valley, thickly cov- 
ered with tall trees. Many of them presented 
sixty or eighty feet of straight trunk before the 
first branch appeared. Graceful flowers bloomed 



A TRICK. 



191 



beneath their shade. A stream ran through the 
valley, which was crossed by a rustic bridge ; 
now submerged thigh-deep. Three days of travel 
now brought them to the Kasai or Lake — a beau- 
tiful river, resembling the Clyde in Scotland, 
and about one hundred yards wide. It flows 
alternately through beautiful bowers of silvan 
vegetation and rich meadows, covered with tall 
grass. Kangenke, the head man of a village in 
this locality, furnished guides, and canoes, to 
cross the river. The men pointed out its course, 
and said, "Though you sail for months, you will 
turn without seeing the end of it." 

A trick was here played upon one of Living- 
stone's men, which may help illustrate the char- 
acter of the people, among whom he was now 
traveling. A knife was purposely dropped near 
the encampment, the owner watching till it was 
picked up by one of the men. Nothing was 
said till the party were divided in crossing the 
river ; one-half on this side and the rest on the 
other bank. Then the charge was made to Liv- 
ingstone, that one of his men had stolen a knife. 
Confident of the honesty of his attendants, he 
asked the man making the charge to search the 
baggage. The unfortunate lad who had picked 
up the knife then came forward and confessed 
he had it in a basket which had been carried 



I92 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

across the river. When it was returned, the 
owner refused to receive it unless it was accom- 
panied by a fine. This was his plan in the whole 
affair, to extort gifts in this wav. The lad offered 
beads. But they were refused with contempt ; 
and a costly ornament of shell, such as we have 
before mentioned as Shinte's present, was de- 
manded. And the lad was obliged to part with 
that. There was no other escape from the im- 
position. The young man ought to have brought 
any article found, to Livingstone, as this was the 
custom of the whole party. Shinte's people had 
forewarned them of such like dishonorable tricks 
practiced by these people. 

The villagers here made no presents of food, 
and charged exorbitant prices for the little meal 
and manioc they brought for sale. They, how- 
ever, know nothing of the value of money. Gold 
is unknown, and trade is carried on in the form 
of barter. ' Gunpowder was in great demand. A 
good-sized fowl was sold for a single charge. 
Unfortunately our travelers had too meager a 
supply to take advantage of this feature of the 
market here. Next to gunpowder, English calico 
and beads were sought after by the natives. 

When they had traveled some distance away 
from the villages, the guides Kangenke had given 
them sat down, and refused to go farther with- 



IN DANGER. 1 93 

out the present of a cloth. They said there 
were three paths in front, and they would leave 
the white man to take whichever he pleased, un- 
less their demand was complied with. Living- 
stone knew the direction in which he was to go, 
and desired his men to go on without them. 
But Mashauana feared they might wander, and 
asked permission to give his own cloth. When 
this was brought out to view, the guides came 
forward, shouting " Averie ! Averie !" This ex- 
clamation seems to be of Christian origin — a 
corruption of Ave Marie. Elsewhere among 
these people an exclamation of surprise, " Allah," 
was noticed, which sounds like the Illah of the 
Arabs. 

They came, in the afternoon of February 29th, 
to a tributary of the Lake. The bridge was 
covered with water up to the breasts of the men. 
And at each end they were obliged to swim. 
Some of them held on to the tail of an ox while 
crossing. Livingstone intended to adopt this 
method, but when he reached the deep water, 
and dismounted, the ox dashed off to join his 
companions before the helm could be caught. 
He sank so deep in the water that Livingstone 
failed in the attempt to catch hold of the blanket 
belt ; and when he pulled the bridle, the ox 
seemed likely to come backward on him. So he 
13 



194 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

struck out for the opposite bank alone. His 
men were terribly frightened when they saw him 
parted from the ox ; not knowing he could swim. 
About twenty of them rushed simultaneously into 
the water, for his rescue. And just as he reached 
the bank, one seized his arm, and another threw 
his arm around the body of the white man. 
Some leaped off the bridge, and their cloaks 
floated down the stream. Part of his goods, 
abandoned in the excitement of the moment, 
were brought up from the bottom, after he was 
safe. Though he did not need their aid, Living- 
stone felt very grateful for the earnest and gen- 
erous efforts they made for his rescue, when they 
thought his life in peril. They were highly 
pleased to find he could swim, like themselves, 
without the aid of an ox tail. Afterward some 
villagers tried to frighten them, by telling of the 
deep rivers that were in their way. The men 
laughed at them and said, " We can all swim ; 
who carried the white man across the river but 
himself?" He says he felt proud of their praise. 

This fidelity and generous devotion shown by 
these uncivilized men to a stranger, and one of 
another race, speaks well, most certainly, for 
their native virtue and goodness of heart. 

Livingstone's Makololo companions were fre- 
quently heard lamenting, as they passed through 



N JAMB I. I95 

these lovely and fertile valleys, that they were 
left uncultivated. "What a fine country for cat- 
tle !" they often said ; " My heart is sore to see 
such fruitful valleys for corn lying waste." Liv- 
ingstone at first thought the reason why the peo- 
ple in this splendid country kept no cattle, was 
because the despotism of their chiefs would take 
them from the common people. But he after- 
ward came to the conclusion that the country 
had been infested by tsetse, so that cattle could 
not be kept. And now that the Balonda had 
come into possession of fire-arms, they had killed 
off all the large game on which the insect feeds, 
and thus starved it out. This pest gone, cattle 
would now do finely here, as the success of a few 
chiefs we have named fully shows. 

The village of Njambi, one of the chiefs of the 
Chiboque, was reached on the 4th of March. 
Intending to pass the Sabbath here, and the pro- 
visions being exhausted, Livingstone ordered a 
riding ox to be slaughtered. The hump and ribs 
were sent to Njambi, with the statement that 
this was the usual tribute to chiefs, in the part 
of the country the travelers had come from. He 
in return expressed his thanks, and promised to 
send food. But next morning he sent a very 
small present of meal, and an impudent message, 
demanding a man, an ox, a gun, powder, cloth, or 



1 96 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA . 

a shell ; and intimated his purpose, in case of 
refusal, to prevent the further progress of the 
travelers. 

About midday Njambi came with all his men 
and surrounded Livingstone's encampment. His 
young men drew their swords, and brandished 
them very fiercely. And some of them pointed 
their guns at Livingstone, at the same time 
nodding at their comrades. The attendants of 
the missionary seized their javelins, and stood 
on the defensive. He sat on a camp-stool, with 
his double-barreled gun across his knees. The 
chief, being invited to sit down, took a seat 
with his counselors, on the ground, near Liv- 
ingstone. His men armed with spears quietly 
surrounded them. He now asked the chief what 
crime they had committed, that be had come out 
against them armed in that manner. The chief 
replied that one of the men of the white man's 
party, Pitsane, had, while sitting by the fire that 
morning, in spitting, allowed a little saliva to 
fall on the leg of one of his men ; and for that 
"guilt" he demanded a fine of an ox, a man, or 
1 gun. Pitsane admitted the fact, but explained 
it as purely an accident, and said he wiped off 
the saliva with his hand soon as it fell. In reply 
to the demand for a fine, Livingstone said they 
would all die before they would give up one of 



COMPOUNDING GUILT. 1 97 

their number as a slave. They were all free 
men. "Then you can give the gun with which 
the ox was shot," said the Chiboque. This prop- 
osition was declined, on the ground that it would 
be giving them additional power to plunder the 
white man and his party — which they evidently 
wanted to do. 

This they denied, and said they only wanted 
the customary tribute, for passing through the 
country. Livingstone told them if he trod on 
their gardens he would pay them ; but not for 
walking on the ground of God, our common 
Father. Now they turned attention to the crime 
of the spitting. And the chief insisting, when 
questioned, that he really thought it a matter of 
guilt, Livingstone gave him a shirt. 

But the young Chiboque were dissatisfied. 
And shouting and brandishing their swords, 
they demanded a larger fine. At the request of 
Pitsane, that something more be given, a bunch 
of beads was offered. The counselors com- 
plained, and a handkerchief was added. More 
and more unreasonable grew the demands, as 
they were yielded to ; the weapons being brand- 
ished furiously meanwhile. One young man made 
a charge at Livingstone's head from behind, but 
he swinging round the muzzle of his gun to 
the mouth of his assailant, he quickly retreated. 



1 98 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

The missionary then told the chief and his coun- 
selors, that as they refused to be satisfied with 
any thing that could be offered, it was plain they 
wanted to fight ; while he only wanted to pass 
peaceably through the country. They must be- 
gin first, and bear the guilt before God, He 
and his party would not strike the firs*- blow. 

He knew very well that the Chiboque vould 
aim first at the white man. But he had four 
gun barrels ready for instant action. So he took 
care to appear perfectly calm ; and looked quietly 
around upon the savage scene. The chief and 
his counselors being in greater danger than Liv- 
ingstone, and seeing the cool preparation of his 
men, thought it prudent not to accept his chal- 
lenge and strike the first blow. 

At last they said, " You come among us in a 
new way, and say you are quite friendly : how 
can we know it, unless you give us some of your 
food, and take some of ours ? If you give us an 
ok, we will give you whatever you wish, and we 
will be friends." This proposal was accepted, 
and an ox was given*. Njambi asked what the 
strangers wished, and was told they were most 
in need of food. In the evening he sent them a 
very small basket of meal, and two or three 
pounds of the meat of their own ox ! with the 
apology that he had no fowls, and very little food 



PECULIAR TREES. 1 99 

of any kind. Our traveler was much gratified 
with the coolness and bravery exhibited by his 
men on this occasion. But though he felt sure 
of being able with his Makololo, who had been 
drilled by Sebituane, to beat back double the 
number of his assailants, he was exceedingly 
glad to avoid the shedding of blood. 

Passing onward through a succession of open 
lawns, and deep forests, it was interesting to no- 
tice the instinct of the trees. One was noticed 
especially, which, when cut, emits a milky juice. 
When growing on the open lawns, it is an ordi- 
nary umbrageous tree, having no disposition to 
be a climber. But when growing in the forest it 
takes the same form, and then sends out a climb- 
ing branch, which twines around another tree, 
rising in that way thirty or forty feet, till on a 
level with the tops of the surrounding tree. 
There it spreads out a second crown, where 
it can enjoy a fair share of sunlight. In more 
dense portions of the forest it takes the form 
of a climber, only making no attempt at form- 
ing a lower head. 

The paths through some of these forests were 
very narrow, and incumbered with gigantic creep- 
ers. The peculiar traits of character which dis- 
tinguished Livingstone's riding ox, "Sinbad," 
were here pretty fully developed. His back was 



200 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

softer than the others, but his temper was more 
intractable. His horns bent downward, and hung 
loosely, so he could do no harm with them. 
But every now and then he would suddenly dart 
aside from the narrow path. The bridle consists 
of a string tied to a stick, which is put through 
the cartilage of the nose. If you jerk this, " Sin- 
bad," instead of stopping, as a well-disposed ox 
ought, only runs on the faster. Nothing will 
stop him but a stroke of the wand across the 
nose. When you attempt to turn him aside, he 
allows his head and nose to follow the bridle, but 
keeps his eye on the forbidden spot, and goes in 
spite of you. Now and then he would run under 
a climber or vine stretched across the path so 
low that his rider could not stoop under it, and 
when he was thus dragged to the ground, " Sin- 
bad" never missed the opportunity without at- 
tempting to express his affection for his master 
by a kick. 

•Livingstone suffered a good deal with fever, 
and sometimes the party were delayed a day or 
two at a time by his illness. On one occasion 
some of his men made a sort of mutiny, because 
they thought him partial in the distribution of 
some gifts of beads. He explained that the 
beads given to his principal men were for the 
purchase of meal. On Sunday following, while 



SUBDUING A PEACE. 201 

lying sick in his tent, he was greatly disturbed 
by the terrible noise made by some of these 
mutineers, in preparing a skin they had procured. 
He sent his attendant twice with the request 
that they would be quiet, as the noise pained 
him. But they paid no attention to the request ; 
and when he had put out his head and repeated 
it, he was answered by an impudent laugh. 
Knowing that every thing depended on the 
maintenance of discipline, he seized a double- 
barreled pistol, and rushing out, put them all. to 
a precipitate flight. To those who remained 
within hearing, he said that they must remember 
he was master, and must maintain discipline even 
at the expense of some of their limbs. They 
were all satisfied of his determination, and never 
afterward gave him any trouble. Reaching the 
banks of the Quango on the 4th of April, the 
natives, called Bashinje, were asked to lend ca- 
noes for the company to cross the river. This 
brought out the chief, who said all the canoe 
men were his children, and could do nothing 
without his authority. He then made the usual 
demand for a man, an ox, or a gun. Otherwise, 
he said, the strangers must return to the coun- 
try from which they had come. This chief was a 
young man. His woolly hair was very elaborately 
dressed ; on the back of his head it was put up 



202 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

in the form of a cone, about eight inches in 
diameter at the base, and carefully swathed with 
red and black thread. The only thing Living- 
stone had to give in response to his demand, was 
a blanket. And he feared if the Bashinje chief 
got possession of this before the party were fer- 
ried over, they would still be detained to extort 
further tribute from them. So he tried to per- 
suade his men to go forward and get possession 
of the canoes. But they feared the chief would 
attack them while crossing. They stripped off 
the last of their copper rings and gave him, but 
this did not satisfy him. Just at this juncture a 
young half-caste Portuguese sergeant made his 
appearance, and urged the party to go forward 
in spite of the Bashinje. He had come across 
the Quango in search of bees-wax. 

As they moved away from the chief, his peo- 
ple opened fire upon them, and continued it for 
some time. But they escaped unharmed, and 
moving quietly forward, without running, as their 
assailants had thought they would do, they were 
not pursued any considerable distance. Cypri- 
ano, the militia sergeant, assisted in making an 
arrangement with the ferrymen more advanta- 
geous than the gift of the blanket. Once across 
to the opposite bank, and they were in the ter- 
ritory of the Bangala, who are subject to the 



TROUBLES ENDED. 203 

Portuguese. Then all their troubles with the 
border tribes were at an end. 

Three miles west of the river they came to a 
collection of neat, square houses, with many- 
cleanly, half-caste Portuguese standing in front 
of them. The men are all enrolled in the mili- 
tia, and Cypriano is the commander of the divi- 
sion established here. No pay is given to them 
by the government. They engage in trade and 
agriculture for a livelihood, and live among the 
Bangala, who are their vassals. 

The company reached the house of Cypriano 
after dark, and Livingstone pitched his tent in 
front of it. In the morning, after giving his men 
a generous supply of corn and pumpkins, Cypri- 
ano invited Livingstone to breakfast. The meal 
consisted of ground nuts and roasted corn, then 
boiled manioc roots, with guavas and honey for 
dessert. To the tired and hungry traveler it was 
a magnificent breakfast, for which he felt very 
grateful. At dinner the sergeant was equally 
bountiful. And some of his friends came in to 
aid our friend, the missionary, in doing justice 
to the hospitality of his kind and generous host. 
Before eating the hands were washed in water 
poured upon them by a female slave. One of the 
guests cut up a fowl with a knife and fork. But 
neither forks nor spoons were used in eating. 



204 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

The repast was eaten with decency and good 
manners, and concluded by washing hands, as at 
the beginning. The hospitality of Cypriano cul- 
minated in slaughtering an ox for' his guests. 
All of these Portuguese could read and write 
easily. They possessed a few books — a small 
work on medicine, a Portuguese dictionary, and 
a small cyclopedia. The dictionary gave a defini- 
tion of the word priest, which savors very strongly 
of Catholic notions ; namely, " one who takes care 
of the conscience." Neither Cypriano nor his 
companions knew any thing about the Bible. 
But they had relics in german-silver cases, hung 
upon their necks, to act as charms and protect 
them from danger. What a pity that the Church 
to which they belong does not give them the 
Word of God in their own language ! 



A PREDICAMENT. 205 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Livingstone at Cassange — A Colored Militia Corporal — 
On to Loanda— Incidents Here — Insect Distillers. 

A few days' journey from the dwelling of his 
hospitable friend Cypriano brought Livingstone 
to Cassange, the farthest inland station of the 
Portuguese in Western Africa. He crossed sev- 
eral fine streams which empty into the Quango, 
and made most of the journey through grass 
which towered two feet above his head, and 
sometimes hung over the path, making one side 
wet with dew in the morning, and when it rained, 
kept him wet all day. His clothing was so badly 
worn that he made his appearance among the 
people of the town in rather a forlorn condition. 
The first gentleman he met asked if he had a 
passport, and said it was necessary to take him 
before the authorities. Livingstone, according to 
his own statement, was in a similar state of mind 
to that of persons who commit a petty crime in 
order to obtain the food and shelter of a prison. 
So he gladly accompanied the gentleman to the 
house of the commandant or Chefe, Senhor de 



206 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

Silva Rego. Having shown his passport, Liv- 
ingstone was invited to supper by the command- 
ant. Being very hungry, he thought he must 
have seemed specially ravenous to the other gen- 
tlemen around the table. But they had traveled 
extensively, and seemed to appreciate his con- 
dition. 

Captain Antonio Rodrigues Neves kindly in- 
vited him to make his home at his house. Next 
morning his generous host arrayed him in a suit 
of decent clothing. And during the whole time 
of his stay he was treated as kindly as a brother 
could have been. This kindness was extended 
to the whole party, who were furnished with a 
liberal supply of food free of charge. 

The village is composed of thirty or forty 
traders' houses, scattered irregularly over an ele- 
vated spot, in the great Quango, or Cassange 
valley. The houses are surrounded by planta- 
tions of manioc and corn, with kitchen gardens in 
the rear, in which the common European vege- 
tables are cultivated ; such as potatoes, peas, cab- 
bages, onions, tomatoes, etc. Guavas and ban- 
anas, from the size and abundance of the trees, 
would seem to have been introduced long ago, 
when the land was held by the natives. But 
orange, fig, pine-apple, and cashew trees have 
been more recently introduced. There are about 



EASTER FESTIVAL. 207 

forty Portuguese traders in the district, all of 
whom are officers in the militia. Many of them 
have become rich by sending out Pombeiros, or 
native traders, to the more remote parts of the 
country. 

Livingstone was an object of great curiosity 
to these Portuguese. They thought him an agent 
of the British Government engaged in some new 
movement for the suppression of slavery. They 
could not imagine what a " missionario " wanted 
with latitudes and longitudes, which he was so 
carefully taking. Becoming better acquainted, 
they put amusing questions, such as, " Is it com- 
mon for missionaries to be doctors ?" " Are you 
a doctor of medicine and a doctor mathemat- 
ico, too ? You must be more than a missionary, 
to know how to calculate longitude." " Come, 
tell us what rank you hold in the English Army." 

On the 1 6th of April the anniversary of the 
resurrection of Christ was celebrated as a day of 
rejoicing, though the Portuguese have no priests 
here. The colored population dressed up a figure 
representing Judas Iscariot, and, mounting him 
on an ox, paraded about the village. The slaves 
and free colored population dressed in their finest 
clothing, visited the principal merchants, wishing 
them " a good feast," and expected a present from 
each of them inu return. It was sometimes 



208 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

refused, though frequently granted in the shape 
of calico for new dresses. At ten, A. M., Liv- 
ingstone went to the residence of the command- 
ant. At a given signal two of the brass govern- 
ment guns commenced firing, to the great delight 
of Livingstone's men, who have very exalted ideas 
of the power of a cannon. The Portuguese flag 
was hoisted, and trumpets sounded, as an expres- 
sion of joy over the great event celebrated. All 
the principal inhabitants of the village were in- 
vited to a feast at the house of Captain Neves. 
At the dinner there were biscuits from America, 
butter from Cork, beer from England, wine from 
Portugal, and all manner of preserved foreign 
fruits. No expense was spared to make the en- 
tertainment rich and joyous. When the feasting 
was over the company sat down to the common 
amusement of card-playing — continuing it till 
eleven o'clock at night. 

These Portuguese gentlemen have no wives of 
their own nation here. They come here to stay 
a few years, make a little money, and return to 
their native land. Hence they do not bring their 
wives with them. But it is common for them to 
have families by native women. The common 
prejudice against color does not exist here. The 
half-colored children are treated as well as though 
they were pure. white. Colored clerks sit at the 



THE TRADERS. 20O, 

table with the merchants who employ them, with- 
out any embarrassment. 

The tusks, sent by Sekeletu, were sold to the 
traders at Cassange. -Two muskets, three small 
barrels of gunpowder, and English calico, and 
baize enough to clothe the whole party of Liv- 
ingstone's attendants, with large bunches of 
beads, were given for one tusk. This was highly 
satisfactory to the Makololo. They now began 
to abuse the traders who had visited them in 
their own country, and cheated them, as they 
said. Livingstone, however, tried to explain to 
them that these traders, if they carried their 
goods so far inland, could not sell at the same 
prices as they did here, on account of the great 
expense of traveling so far. When they went on 
to Loanda, and saw goods sold still more cheaply, 
they came to the conclusion it would be better 
for them to come to that city than to trade at 
Cassange. 

Our traveler had now about three hundred 
miles to make in order to reach the coast. His 
men told him they had been thinking of turning 
back toward home, as the colored people of 
Cassange had told them he was leading them 
down to the coast to sell them, that they would 
be taken on board a ship, fattened, and eaten — 
the white people being cannibals. Livingstone 
H 



2 1 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA . 

asked if they had ever heard of an Englishman 
buying and selling people ; if he had not refused 
to take the slave offered him by Shinte. But, 
said he, "as I have always behaved as an English 
teacher, if you now doubt my intentions, you had 
better not go to the coast. I expect to meet some 
of my countrymen there, and am determined to 
go on." They replied that they only thought it 
right to tell him what they had heard ; but they 
did not intend to leave him, and were willing to 
follow wherever he should lead them. 

Mr. Rego, the commandant, offered a soldier 
as guard to Ambaca ; and gave Livingstone an 
ox and a parting dinner. All the merchants of 
Cassange accompanied him to the edge of the 
plateau on which the town stands. They were 
carried by slaves in hammocks. "We parted," 
Livingstone writes, " with the feeling in my mind 
that I should never forget their disinterested 
kindness. They not only did every thing they 
fcould to make my men and me comfortable dur- 
ing our stay ; but there being no hotels in Lo- 
anda, they furnished me with letters of recom- 
mendation to their friends in that city, request- 
ing them to receive me into their houses, for 
without these a stranger might find himself a 
lodger in the streets. May God remember them 
in the day of their need !" 



WRITING ORDERS. 211 

The soldier guide, furnished by the command- 
ant, was a black militia corporal. He was a na- 
tive of Ambaca ; and, like most of the inhabit- 
ants of that district, could read and write. He 
had three slaves, who carried him in a "tipoia," 
or hammock hung to a pole. The slaves being 
young, and not strong enough to carry him far 
at a time, he was sufficiently considerate to walk 
when the company were not near a village. 
Whenever they approached one he mounted his 
tipoia, and entered the place in state. When 
quite out of sight of the village again, he dis- 
mounted and relieved his servants. Two slaves 
were occupied with carrying his tipoia, and the 
other carried a wooden box about three feet long, 
which contained clothing, dishes, and writing 
materials. When he wanted to make a purchase 
at any of the villages, he would sit down, make 
a little ink from gunpowder, and write a note to 
the shop-keeper, asking the price, addressing him 
by the pompous title, " Illustrissimo Senhor " — 
Most Illustrious Sir. This is the usual mode of 
address throughout Angola. An answer would 
be returned in the same style. If this was satis- 
factory, another note closed the bargain. Some 
other traits of this guide were less pleasing. He 
had far less of honesty and truthfulness than Liv- 
ingstone's heathen attendants. " A land of slaves 



2 1 2 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

is a bad school for even the free." He would 
connive with those of whom the company pur- 
chased food to cheat them for a share of the 
plunder. A remedy was at last applied by keep- 
ing him at a distance from the place where they 
were bargaining. He took them safely down to 
Ambaca, however; and Livingstone was pleased 
to find, on his return to Cassange, that the cor-, 
poral had been promoted to the position of ser- 
geant-major of a company of militia. 

At the village of Tala Mungongo a house was 
furnished the travelers to sleep in. Here and at 
other Portuguese stations through this country, 
travelers' houses have been provided, after the 
fashion of the khans or caravansaries of the East. 
They are built of interwoven branches, and plas- 
tered with mud. They contain benches of poles, 
for the bed of the traveler to rest upon, a table, 
chairs, and a large jar of water. A few miles 
from this village is the mountain from which it 
takes its name. The ascent is steep and slip- 
pery — a narrow path running along between deep 
gorges. Livingstone accomplished the ascent in 
an hour, and found himself upon a broad table 
land, among lofty trees. One of these, named 
Mononga-zambi, bears a fruit about the size of a 
thirty-two-pound shot. 

Passing through a fertile and well-populated 



GOLUNGO ALTO. 2.1$ 

country, our company rested on Sunday, the 30th 
of April, at Ngio, near the ford of the River 
Quize. Reaching Ambaca, they were politely 
received by the commandant, Arsenio de Carpo, 
who spoke a little English. Some ten or twelve 
miles to the north of this village, the missionary 
station of Cahenda once stood. The Jesuit and 
Capuchin missionaries stationed there taught the 
people, and ever since their expulsion by the 
Marquis of Pombal, the people have taught each 
other. As the result, large numbers throughout 
the district can read and write. The district is 
said to contain upward of forty thousand inhab- 
itants. 

It was the 24th of May when they reached 
Golungo Alto. This is Winter in this country. 
The thermometer stands at 8o° in day-time, and 
sinks to 76 at night. The green hills surround- 
ing the place are cultivated up to the top with 
manioc, coffee, cotton, ground-nuts, bananas, pine- 
apples, pitangas, guavas, papaws, custard-apples, 
and jambos — fruits which had been brought from 
South America by the missionaries. All kinds of 
fruit-trees and grape-vines bear fruit twice a year, 
with very little labor, and without irrigation. 
Grains and vegetables produce two crops. At 
Trombeta a fine coffee plantation was seen, be- 
longing to the sub-commandant, residing here. 



2 1 4 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

The grounds around his house were laid out with 
taste, and decorated with flowers. Rows of trees 
were planted along each side of the road, with 
flowers and pine-apples interspersed. This was 
the first display of real taste in such matters which 
had been seen since they left the hospitable man- 
sion of Mozinkwa, in Loanda. This gentleman 
had a fine estate. When a forest, a few years ago, 
it cost him eighty dollars. Now he has upon it 
nine hundred coffee trees, which, doubtless, yield 
him annually sixty times the original investment. 
These coffee trees begin to yield in three years 
from the planting, and reach their maximum in 
six. Cotton was standing in the pods in the 
field, the proprietor seeming not to care for it. 

As they drew near the coast, Livingstone's com- 
panions began to look at matters in a very serious 
light. One asked if they would all have the op- 
portunity of watching each other at Loanda. 
" Suppose one went for water, would the other 
see if he were kidnapped ?" " I see what you are 
driving at," was the reply, " and if you suspect 
me, you may return, for I am as ignorant of Lo- 
anda as you are ; but nothing will happen to you 
but what happens to myself. We have stood by 
each other hitherto, and will do so to the last." 

On reaching the elevated plains adjacent to 
Loanda, they caught their first view of the sea. 



ENGLISH HOSPITALITY. ■ 21$ 

The natives looked with astonishment and awe 
upon the boundless ocean. In describing their 
feelings afterward they said : " We marched along 
with our father, believing that what the ancients 
had told us was true, that the world has no end ; 
but all at once the world said to us, ' I am fin- 
ished, there is no more of me !' " They had al- 
ways thought the world was a plain extended with- 
out limit. Mr. Gabriel, the English commissioner 
for the suppression of the slave-trade, residing at 
Loanda, had sent an invitation to Livingstone to 
take up his abode with him, upon arrival at the 
place. But the message had missed him on the 
road. He went, however, to the house of this 
gentleman, not knowing what kind of a reception 
might greet him. But on reaching his porch, 
numerous flowers, carefully cultivated, which he 
saw, led him to infer that the proprietor of the 
mansion was what he soon found him to be, a 
real whole-hearted Englishman. 

Being ill, the worn and wasted traveler accepted 
the bed which was kindly offered. "Never," said 
he, "shall I forget the luxurious pleasure I en- 
joyed in feeling myself again on a good English 
couch, after six months sleeping on the ground." 
He was soon sound asleep. Hoping that the 
generous hospitality of Mr. Gabriel would soon 
restore his health, Livingstone remained under 



2 1 6 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

his roof. But his disease haying been produced 
by long exposure to malaria, he grew worse even 
while resting. Several Portuguese gentlemen 
called upon him soon after his arrival. The 
Bishop of Angola, the Right Reverend Joaquim 
Morcira Reis, the acting-governor of the prov- 
ince, sent his secretary to visit him, and offer 
the services of the government physician. Some 
British cruising ships came into port, and, in view 
of Livingstone's emaciated condition, offered to 
convey him to St. Helena, or homeward. But he 
felt under obligation to return with his Makololo 
friends, since his experience of the hostility of 
the border tribes made it probable they would 
not get back alive if left to return alone. So he 
declined the tempting offer of his friends of the 
English navy. Finding, too, by his journey, that 
the great amount of rivers, forests, and marsh, in 
the route he had traveled, would make it imprac- 
ticable to construct a wagon road through that 
country, so as to open up the country of Sekeletu 
for trade, he now determined to go back and 
find a path from that region to the east coast, by 
means of the great river Zambesi, or Leeambye. 
He was glad, however, to avail himself of the 
medical aid of the Surgeon of the ship " Poly- 
phemus," it having been kindly suggested by the 
Commander, Captain Phillips. 



STRANGE SIGHTS. 21 7 

The medical skill of Mr. Cockin, the surgeon, 
and the unwearied hospitality of Mr. Gabriel, 
together with the exhilarating presence of the 
warm-hearted naval officers, soon worked an im- 
provement in his health. In about two weeks 
after his arrival he had sufficiently recovered to 
call on the Bishop. His party of native men 
accompanied him, arrayed in new robes of striped 
cotton and red caps, the gift of Mr. Gabriel. 
The Bishop, now acting as Governor, received 
them in the great hall of the palace. He asked 
many very intelligent questions about the Ma- 
kololo, and gave them permission to come to 
Loanda as often as they wished. They were de- 
lighted with the interview. 

The Makololo were very serious in their de- 
portment. They saw many things new and ex- 
ceedingly strange to them. They looked with 
awe upon the large stone churches and houses 
in the vicinity of the Ocean. They never could 
comprehend a two-story house till now. In talk- 
ing to them about it Livingstone had always 
been obliged to use the word hut. Their huts 
are made of poles thrust into the ground; and 
they could not comprehend how the poles of one 
hut could be planted on the roof of another, or 
how men could live in the upper story with the 
conical roof of thb y lower hut in the middle. 



2l8 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

Some Makololo who had visited Livingstone's 
house at Kolobeng, in describing it to their 
countrymen at Linyanti, said, " It is not a hut, 
it is a mountain with several caves in it." 

Commander Bedingfeld and Captain Skene 
invited them to visit their vessels, the " Pluto " 
and " Philomel." In view of their fears, Living- 
stone told them no one need go who had any 
suspicions of unfair play. But nearly the whole 
party went. When they were all on the deck 
of the vessel, Livingstone pointed to the sailors 
and told the natives, " Now, these are all my 
countrymen, sent by our Queen for the purpose 
of putting down the trade of those that buy and 
sell black men." They replied, " Truly, they are 
just like you." All their fears seemed to vanish. 
They went forward among the jolly tars, who, 
acting very much as the Makololo would do in 
similar circumstances, offered them bread and 
beef, of which they were making their dinner. 

The Commander permitted them to fire off 
a cannon. Having the highest notions of its 
power, they were much pleased when Living- 
stone told them "that is what they put down 
the slave-trade with." They were filled with 
amazement at the size of a brig-of-war, and said, 
" It is not a canoe at all, it is a town." They 
called the sailors' deck " the kotla," and capped 



'CATHEDRAL WORSHIP. 219 

the climax in their description of this great ark 
by saying, "And what sort of a town is it that 
you must climb up into with a rope?" 

The politeness shown them by the officers and 
men had a beneficial effect upon their minds. 
Livingstone had been treated with great kind- 
ness by them ; but now he rose very rapidly in 
their estimation when they saw the respect shown 
him by his own countrymen. They treated him 
with the greatest deference ever afterward. 

Wishing to show them a place of worship, 
Livingstone took them to the Cathedral when 
mass was celebrated. But the gorgeous ritual — 
which some think better suited to inspire feel- 
ings of reverence and devotion than the simple 
forms of Protestant worship — did not produce 
any such effect on the minds of these uncul- 
tured sons of Nature. The numerous genu- 
flexions, changes of position by the priests, their 
backs turned to the people, burning incense, the 
laughing, talking, and manifest irreverence of the 
singers, the firing of guns, etc., failed to inspire 
them with any feeling of adoration. In speaking 
of it afterward they said "they had seen the 
white man charming their demons "—the iden- 
tical language they used with reference to the 
practice of the Balonda in beating drums before 
their idols. 



220 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

In the early part of August Livingstone was 
afflicted with a relapse, which transformed him 
to a skeleton. For a considerable time he was 
unable to give any attention to his men. But, 
without any prompting, they had established a 
brisk trade in fire-wood. They started early in 
the morning, and by daylight reached the uncul- 
tivated country surrounding the city. Here 
they gathered fire-wood, which they brought in 
and sold to the inhabitants ; and, as they gave 
larger quantities than the regular wood-carriers, 
they found a ready sale for all they brought. 

A ship loaded with coal for the naval vessels 
having arrived from England, Mr. Gabriel pro- 
cured them employment in unloading her at six- 
pence a day. This occupied them for upward 
of a month. They were filled with astonishment 
at the amount of cargo which one ship contained. 
They expressed their wonder afterward by say- 
ing, " We labored fast as possible, every day, 
from sunrise to sunset, for a moon and a half, 
unloading stones that burn, and were tired out, 
still leaving plenty in the ship." 

With the money obtained in this way they 
bought clothing, beads, and other articles to 
take back to their own country. Their idea of 
the value of different kinds of goods surprised 
those who had been accustomed to trade with 



NATIVES TRADING. 221 

the natives near the coast. Hearing some per- 
sons state confidently that the Africans chose the 
thinnest fabrics — if they only had gaudy colors, 
and a large extent of surface — Livingstone ques- 
tioned the statement, and, in proof of his own 
opinion, took the Makololo to the store of Mr. 
Schut to test their judgment in the selection of 
goods. When they were shown the amount of 
goods they could buy for a single tusk, they were 
requested, without any reasons being given, to 
point out the fabrics they thought most desirable. 
Then they all at once selected the strongest 
pieces of English calico, and other goods, show- 
ing that they had regard to strength and dura- 
bility, and not to color. Livingstone believed, 
from his acquaintance with them, that most of 
the Bechuanas would have done the same. But 
he was assured that the natives near the coast, 
with whom the Portuguese were trading, had 
less regard to durability. This, perhaps, results 
from the fact that calico is, among them, the 
chief circulating medium. Hence, quantity is 
more important than quality. 

During his illness, Livingstone was visited by 
messengers from the Bishop, who were sent to 
inquire for his health. Soon as he was able to 
walk, he went to express his thanks for these 
civilities. The Bishop's conversation showed 



222 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

him to be a man of great benevolence and kind- 
ness of heart. He said he was a Catholic from 
conviction, but, though he regretted to see oth- 
ers, like his present visitor, pursuing another 
path, he cherished no uncharitable feelings, and 
would never sanction any measures of perse- 
cution. He compared the different sects of 
Christians to persons passing down different 
streets of the city to one of the churches — all 
would arrive at the same point at last. His 
good influence in the city and adjacent country 
is universally acknowledged. He promoted the 
establishment of schools, which, though more 
monastic in character than Protestants would 
like, yet will doubtless be of great advantage to 
the country. His influence upon the state of 
morals in the country was good, especially in 
leading men to abandon the system of concu- 
binage, which prevailed for Christian marriage. 
The city of St. Paul de Loanda contains a 
population of about twelve thousand, the larger 
part of whom are people of color. It has now 
very greatly declined from its former magnifi- 
cence. Various evidences of this are seen 
throughout the city. A fine cathedral, once a 
Jesuit college, is now degraded to a workshop. 
Oxen were seen feeding within the stately walls 
of another. Shade trees are planted over the 



•S-7: PAUL DE LOANDA. 223 

town. It presents an imposing appearance from 
the sea. It is provided with an effective police, 
and a well-managed custom-house. There are 
three forts, in a good state of repair. The Por- 
tuguese authorities are polite and obliging ; " and 
if ever any inconvenience is felt by strangers 
visiting the port, it must be considered the fault 
of the system, and not of the men." 

The harbor is formed by the low, sandy island 
of Loanda. The ships ride in safety between 
this island and the main land, on which the city 
is built. Part of the island is so low that high, 
south-west winds dash the waves over it, and 
gradually fill the harbor with sand. Great quan- 
tities of soil are washed down from the hights 
above the city during the rainy season, so that 
the port near the custom-house, which once con- 
tained sufficient water to float the largest ships, 
is now dry, at low water. Hence the ships 
anchor a mile north of their former station. 

The island is occupied by about thirteen hund- 
red inhabitants, six hundred of whom are indus- 
trious fishermen, and furnish the city daily with 
an abundant supply of good fish. 

There is not a single English merchant in 
the city, and only two American. Livingstone 
thought the arrangements of the custom-house 
had some influence in preventing English trade. 



224 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

Ships coming into the port must be consigned 
to some one here. The consignee receives one 
hundred dollars per mast, and a per centage for 
boats, and men hired for loading and unloading, 
and, likewise, on every item that passes through 
hfs hands. The port charges, too, are heavy. 
The Secretary of the Government demands a 
perquisite of twenty dollars. The chief physi- 
cian must have a fee, with something for the 
hospital, custom-house officers, guards, etc. Still, 
our countrymen carry on a very brisk and lucra- 
tive trade in calico, biscuit, flour, and butter. 

It was the opinion of Livingstone that the 
home Government of the Portuguese has not 
usually received as much credit as was due for 
its sincerity in efforts to suppress the slave-trade. 
Mr. Gabriel stated that he saw, in 1839, no less 
than thirty-seven slaveships lying in this harbor, 
under the protection of the guns of the fort, 
waiting for their cargoes of human freight. A 
certain sum per head was paid the Government 
for all the slaves exported. And the revenue 
from this source exceeded that derived from all 
the rest of the commerce. Thus it appears that 
the Government, in agreeing to the suppression 
of that traffic, actually sacrificed the chief part 
of the export revenue. Since that time, how- 
ever, the revenue from lawful commerce has 



LEAVING LOANDA. 225 

grown so as greatly to exceed that formerly de- 
rived from the slave-trade. 

A brief statement of the objects had in view 
by Livingstone in opening up the country, which 
was published in the newspapers of Angola, very 
much interested the merchants and General Gov- 
ernment at Loanda. The Board of Public Works, 
at the instance of his excellency, the Bishop, 
granted a handsome present for Sekeletu, con- 
sisting of a horse, a colonel's complete uniform, 
and suits of clothing for each of the men who 
came with Livingstone. The merchants, also, 
by public subscription, made a present of hand- 
some specimens of all their articles of trade, 
with two donkeys, designed to introduce the 
stock into the country, as these hardy animals 
are proof against the tsetse. The presents were 
accompanied by letters from the Bishop and the 
merchants. They generously gave Livingstone 
letters of commendation to the Portuguese au- 
thorities in Eastern Africa. 

On the 20th of September, 1854, our great 
explorer left Loanda, having spent nearly four 
months here. His men had accumulated so 
many goods of their .own that they were unable 
to carry his luggage. So the good Bishop fur- 
nished him twenty carriers, and sent orders to 
all the commandants of districts, through which 
*5 



226 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

he was to pass, to render him all possible assist- 
ance. Having been supplied with a new tent by 
his friends on board the Philomel, he sailed with 
them to the mouth of the Bengo River. He 
ascended this river through the district in which 
the ruined convent of St. Antonio stands. He 
visited, on this route, a large sugar manufactory 
owned by a lady, Donna Anna de Sousa. The 
flat, alluvial lands along this river are well 
adapted to the cultivation of sugar-cane. This 
lady had a large number of slaves ; but the es- 
tablishment was far less flourishing than those 
afterward seen carried on by free labor. In the 
hope that it may meet the eye of Donna Anna, 
Livingstone mentions the fact that Mauritius, a 
man of color, with not one-tenth the number of 
hands, and with soil not so good, but with free 
labor, had cleared $25,000 by a single crop. 

Reaching the river Lucalla, our traveler sailed 
down it in a canoe to Massango, accompanied by 
•he Commandant of Cazengo. The river is about 
eighty-five yards wide, and navigable for canoes 
from the confluence of the Coanza to about six 
miles above the mouth of Leimha. Near this 
point are the massive ruins of an iron foundery, 
erected by the order of the Marquis of Pombal 
in 1768. The buildings are of stone, cemented 
with oil and lime. The dam for water-power, 



MASSANGO. 227 

made of the same materials, was twenty-seven 
feet high. It had been partly broken down by 
a flood ; solid blocks of stone, many yards in 
length, being carried down the stream. A party 
of native smiths and miners is kept here in the 
employ of the Government. They produce from 
400 to 500 bars of good malleable iron every 
month. 

The banks of the Lucalla are beautiful. They 
are thickly planted with orange trees, bananas, 
and the palm which yields the palm-oil of com- 
merce. Native houses, with little boys and girls 
playing around them, are seen embowered in 
shady groves, with large plantations of maize, 
tobacco, manioc around them. Many climbing 
plants run up the lofty cotton, silk, and baobal 
trees, hanging their beautiful flowers in gay fes- 
toons on the branches. The soil is very fertile. 

In the town of Massango, which has some- 
thing more than a thousand inhabitants, there 
are the ruins of two churches, a hospital, and 
two convents. There is neither priest nor 
schoolmaster in the place ; but some of the chil- 
dren were taught by one of the inhabitants. 
The fort is small, but in good repair. It con- 
tains some^very "ancient guns. They are breech- 
loading, and must have been formidable weapons 
in their time. The natives have a remarkable 



228 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

fear of cannon. This contributes to the stability 
of the Portuguese authority. 

Returning up the Lucalla, several flourishing 
coffee plantations were visited. Mr. Pinto, the 
gentlemanly proprietor of one of these, gener- 
ously gave Livingstone a liberal supply of excel- 
lent coffee, and presented his men with a pair of 
rabbits to carry into their country. The women 
were seen employed in spinning cotton, and cul- 
tivating their lands. Their only implement for 
this work is a double-handled hoe, which is 
worked with a sort of dragging motion. Some 
of the men were engaged in weaving. A web, 
which it requires a month to finish, brings them 
only two shillings. 

Some of the men had been left to rest from 
their travel at Golungo Alto, and, on returning, 
Livingstone found several of them sick with 
fever. One of them had an attack of insanity. 
He came to his comrades, one day, and said, 
"Remain well. I am called away by the gods!" 
and off he ran at the top of his speed. The 
young men gave chase, and caught him before 
he had run a mile, and bound him. By gentle 
treatment he recovered in a few days. Living- 
stone saw several instances of this kind, but he 
was led to think continued insanity and idiocy 
extremely rare. 



RECREA TIONS. 229 

The principal recreations of the natives of 
Angola are weddings and funerals. When a 
young woman is about to be married, she is 
anointed with unguents, placed in a hut alone, 
and numerous incantations are used to secure her 
good fortune. After some days she is removed 
to another hut, and dressed in the richest cloth- 
ing, and finest ornaments her friends can lend 
or borrow. Then she is placed in some public 
situation, and saluted as a lady, presents from all 
her acquaintances being placed around her ; then 
she is taken to the residence of her husband, 
where she has a hut for herself, and becomes one 
of several wives : — for polygamy prevails here. 
The occasion is celebrated for several days with 
dancing, feasting, and drinking. In case of sepa- 
ration, the woman returns to her own family, and 
the man receives back from her parents the price 
he paid for her. For mulattoes, the price is 
sometimes as high as two hundred and forty dol- 
lars. Dear wives, are they not ? 
. When a death occurs the body is kept for sev- 
eral days. A great gathering of both sexes is 
had, and feasting and debauchery, beating of 
drums and dancing, are kept up in accordance 
with the ability of the relatives. The great am- 
bition is to give their friends an expensive funeral. 
Sometimes these expenses are so heavy that years 



230 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

elapse before they are paid. On the last day of 
the ceremonies a pig is slaughtered and eaten, its 
head being thrown into a stream. When one is 
asked to sell a pig, he often replies, " I am keep- 
ing it in case of the death of any of my friends." 
If a native, found intoxicated on such occasion, 
is blamed for his intemperance, he justifies him- 
self by saying, " Why, my mother is dead !" 
That he thinks sufficient reason for getting 
drunk. 

These people are very obstinate, and fond of 
litigation. A case came before the weekly court 
of Mr. Canto, the Commandant, involving prop- 
erty in a palm-tree, worth about two pence. The 
Judge advised the complainant to withdraw the 
suit, since the cost of entering it would be more 
than the whole value of the tree. " O no," he 
replied, " I have a piece of calico with me for the 
clerk, and money for you. It is my right ; I 
will not forego it." The calico cost three or four 
shillings — several times the worth of the prop- 
erty. They find very great pleasure in being 
able to say of an enemy, " I took him before the 
court." 

Delayed here by the illness of the horse pre- 
sented by the Bishop for Sekeletu, Livingstone 
improved the opportunity to observe a curious 
insect which inhabits trees of the fig family. 



WATER-DISTILLING INSECT. 23 1 

Seven or eight of them cluster around a spot on 
one of the smaller branches. They keep up a 
constant distillation of a clear fluid, which drops 
upon the ground, and forms a little puddle. You 
may catch three or four pints of the fluid during 
a night, if you place a vessel under them. The 
natives say a drop spattered in the eyes produces 
inflammation. Both the natives and naturalists 
think the fluid is sucked from the tree. After 
careful observations and experiments, Living- 
stone came to the conclusion that the fluid is dis- 
tilled from the atmosphere, by some mysterious 
process, of which these insects have the exclu- 
sive patent. He tried the following experiment : 
Finding a colony of these insects at their work 
of distilling on a branch of the castor oil plant, 
he stripped off the bark between them and the 
trunk of the plant for a distance of twenty inches, 
and scraped off the inner bark, so as to destroy 
all the vessels of the ascending sap. He then 
cut a hole in the side of the branch, and cut out 
the pith and internal vessels. But this cutting 
off the supplies of moisture furnished by the tree 
made no difference with these distillers. When the 
experiment began they were producing one drop 
each sixty-seven seconds, or about two ounces, 
five-and-a-half drams, every twenty-four hours. 
But, as usual, during the night, when there is 



232 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

more moisture in the air, the process was far 
more rapid. Next morning it was found they 
had been producing fluid at the rate of twelve 
drops per minute — that is, sixteen ounces, or one 
pint in twenty-four hours. He then cut the 
branch so that it broke during the day, but they 
went on with their work at the same rate. 

Another colony with which the same form of 
experiment was tried, produced a drop every two 
seconds, or four pints and ten ounces in twenty- 
four hours. There was no perforation of the 
branch to be seen where these insects clustered ; 
and these experiments make it highly probable, 
to say the least, that they do not derive any 
moisture from the tree, but, by some peculiar 
power they possess, distill it from the air. Still, 
they will not remain on a branch entirely severed 
from the tree. 

On crossing the river Lucalla, a detour to the 
south was made for the purpose of visiting the 
racks of Pungo Andongo. A change in the veg- 
etation of the country was soon noticed. There 
were trees identical with those which grow south 
of the Chobe. The grass stands in tufts, and is 
of the kind thought by the natives to be best 
adapted for cattle ; and the plump condition of 
the cattle shows the effect of rich pasturage. 
Livingstone had been uniformly referred to 



PUNGO ANDONGO. 233 

Pungo Andongo in all his previous inquiries as 
to the productions of Angola. " Do you grow 
wheat ?" " O yes, in Pungo Andongo." " Grapes, 
figs, peaches ?" " O yes, in Pungo Andongo." 
" Do you make butter and cheese ?" " Abund- 
ance in Pungo Andongo." But when he reached 
the place he found all this referred to the agricul- 
tural products of one man, Colonel Manuel An- 
tonio Pires. 

The fort of Pungo Andongo is situated in the 
midst of a singular group of columnar-shaped 
rocks. Each of them is upward of three hundred 
feet high. They are composed of conglomerate, 
made up of a variety of rounded pieces of rock, in 
a matrix of dark-red sandstone, and rest on a thick 
stratum of this rock. These gigantic pillars seem 
to have been formed by a current of the sea com- 
ing from the south-east, ages ago, when the rela- 
tions of land and sea were altogether different 
from what they now are. The pieces imbedded 
in the conglomerate are gneiss, clay shale, mica, 
and sandstone schists, trap, and porphyry. Most 
of these are large enough to give the whole the 
appearance of being the only remaining vestiges 
of vast primeval banks of shingle. Several little 
streams wind around among the rocks. The vil- 
lage is completely environed by them, and the 
pathways leading to it might easily be defended 



234 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

by a small body of troops against an army. This 
was the stronghold of the original inhabitants of 
the country, the Jinga. 

A footprint carved upon one of these rocks 
was shown Livingstone, and is said to be that of 
a famous Queen, who reigned over all this region. 
The history of Angola tells of the famous Queen, 
Donna Anna de Sowzga, who came from this vi- 
cinity to Loanda, in 1621, as an embassadress 
for her brother, Gola Bandy, king of the Jinga. 
She came to sue for peace, and surprised the 
Governor by the promptness of her answers. 
The Governor proposed the payment of tribute 
annually by the Jinga as a condition of peace. 
She at once replied, " People talk of tribute when 
they have conquered, and not before ; we come 
to talk of peace, not of subjection." She gained 
all she sought, remained some time in Loanda, 
was taught by the missionaries, and baptized in 
the Catholic faith. She returned to her own 
country with honor, and succeeded to the king- 
dom at the death of her brother, whom she was 
suspected of poisoning. In a subsequent war 
with the Portuguese, she lost, in a great battle, 
nearly all her army. After a long apostasy she 
returned to the Church, and died at a very great 
age. 



COLONEL PIPES. 235 



CHAPTER IX. 

An Alligator with a Slave Boy — A Native Diviner — An 
African Wake — Beauty of Scenery and Climate — A 
Blow on the Beard — The Kasendi — Hostile Natives — 
Encounter with a Buffalo — Return to Linyanti. 

Colonel Pires, whose generous hospitality- 
Livingstone was now enjoying, came to this 
country as a servant on a ship. By persevering 
industry he has become the richest merchant in 
the district of Angola. He owns thousands of 
cattle, and, in any emergency, can take the field 
at the head of an army of several hundred well- 
armed slaves. His slaves appeared more like free 
servants than is usual in such establishments. 
Instead of that negligence and slovenliness, usu- 
ally seen, which indicates the disposition to do as 
little for the master as possible, every thing here 
was neat and clean, as though the servants took 
a real interest and pride in the establishment. 

The mansion of the Colonel is outside the 
rocks, and commands a magnificent view of the 
surrounding country. He had another estate on 
the banks of the Coanza. about six miles distant, 



I 

236 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

which Livingstone visited once a week with him 
for the sake of recreation. 

The difference in temperature between these 
two places was such that the cashew trees were 
just coming into flower at the estate near the 
rocks, while on the lower land, by the river, they 
were ripening their fruit. Cocoanut and banana 
trees bear well at the lower plantation, while at 
the other they yield but little fruit. The dif- 
ference of temperature indicated by the ther- 
mometer was 7 . The general range at the rocks 
was 6y° at seven o'clock in the morning ; 74° at 
noon ; and 72 in the evening. This was in the 
month of December. 

A slave boy belonging to the Colonel having 
stolen some melons and eaten them, went to the 
river to wash his mouth, so as not to be detected 
by the flavor upon his breath. An alligator un- 
dertook to punish him for the theft, and seized 
him and carried him to an island in the middle 
of the river. Here the poor fellow caught hold 
of some reeds and held them so firmly as to baf- 
fle all the efforts of the reptile to dislodge him. 
His cries attracted the attention of his compan- 
ions, and they came in a canoe to his assistance. 
The alligator at once let go his hold when they 
appeared, and the boy was saved. He had, how- 
ever, many marks of the ugly reptile's teeth upon 



BURIAL MOUNDS. 237 

his thigh and body, and of his claws upon the 
legs and arms. 

A large number of ancient burial-places are 
seen in this vicinity, where the Jinga have buried 
their dead. They are large mounds of stone, 
with cooking vessels of rude pottery placed upon 
them. Some of the mounds are in a circular 
form, shaped like a haycock, and two or three 
yards in diameter. The natives of Angola bury 
their dead at the side of the most frequented 
paths. They are especially anxious to secure for 
that purpose the point where cross-roads meet. 
They place water-bottles, broken pipes, cooking 
vessels, and, sometimes, a little bow and arrow on 
the grave ; and plant upon and around it tree 
euphorbias, and other species of that family. 
The Portuguese Government have tried in vain 
to break up this custom of burying in the roads 
by penalties, and by appointing places of burial 
in each district. But, in spite of the most rigid 
enforcement of the law, the natives follow their 
ancient custom. 

Notwithstanding the fertility of the soil, the 
people of Angola do but little in the way of ag- 
riculture. No plow is used. All cultivation 
is performed with the native hoe, in the hands 
of slaves. The half-breed Portuguese have less 
energy than their fathers. The staple product 



238 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

is manioc, which does not afford sufficient nutri- 
ment to give stamina to the people. This plant 
bears drought, without the leaves shriveling, as 
other plants do when deprived of rain. The 
leaves make an excellent vegetable for the table. 
The stalk makes good fuel, and affords a large 
amount of potash. In alluvial soils, when well 
watered, it matures in ten or twelve months. 
Tapioca is made from the root, by rasping it 
when raw, placing it upon a cloth, and pouring 
water upon it while rubbing it with the hands. 
It parts with its starchy, glutinous matter. This, 
when it settles in the bottom of the vessel, and 
the water is poured off, is placed in the sun till 
nearly dry. The drying is completed on an iron 
plate, over a slow fire, the mass being stirred, 
meanwhile, with a stick. In the interior of An- 
gola, fine manioc meal, which is easily convertible 
into superior starch, or the tapioca of commerce, 
is sold at the rate of ten pounds for a penny, 
f here is, however, no other means of transpor- 
tation to Loanda than the shoulders of carriers 
and slaves, over a foot-path. 

The King of Congo, whose dominions are 
north of Angola, is said to be a Christian. And 
it is stated there are no less than twelve churches 
in the Kingdom, as the result of a mission for- 
merly established at the Capitol, San Salvador. 



LEAVING PUNGO ANDONGO. 239 

When a King of Congo dies, the body is wrapped 
in many folds of cloth, and kept till a priest can 
come from Loanda and consecrate his successor. 
No priests live now in the interior of the coun- 
try, probably on account of the prevalence of 
fever. The King of Congo retains the title, 
Lord of Angola, which he possessed when the 
original inhabitants of that country, the Jinga, 
owed him allegiance. When he writes to the 
Governor of Angola he places his own name 
first, as though he were addressing a vassal. 

During his stay at Pungo Andongo, Living- 
stone was employed in reproducing some papers, 
dispatches, maps, etc., which had been lost on 
the mail packet, Forerunner, of the loss of which 
he had just heard. But this unwelcome news 
was coupled with the grateful intelligence that 
his friend, Lieutenant Bedingfield, who had them 
in charge, had escaped the imminent peril to 
which he had been exposed — of going to the 
bottom of the sea with them. 

Livingstone left Pungo Andongo on the first 
of January, 1855. Just before reaching Cas- 
sange he was overtaken by the Commandant, 
who, with a detachment of fifty men and a can- 
non, was returning from an unsuccessful search 
for a party of rebels. Senhor Carvalho, the Com- 
mandant, invited him to partake of his hospitality, 



240 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

but he declined, wishing to call on Captain Neves, 
whose kindness he had shared when he first ar- 
rived in the Portuguese possessions. A child of 
his generous host died during this visit. His 
mother, a colored woman, sent for a diviner dur- 
ing the child's illness, to learn from him what was 
best to be done. This functionary came, and, 
after throwing his dice, he worked himself into 
the frenzy or ecstasy in which they pretend to 
have communication with the Barimo, or disem- 
bodied spirits. He then gave oracular response 
that the child was being killed by the spirit of a 
Portuguese trader, who had formerly lived at 
Cassange. At the death of this trader the mer- 
chants of the village took his goods, and, dividing 
them among each other, rendered account of the 
portion each received to his creditors at Loanda. 
The natives who looked on upon these transac- 
tions and were utterly ignorant of written mer- 
cantile operations, thought the merchants, had 
stolen the goods of the trader ; and, as Captain 
Neves had taken part in the affair, they supposed 
the spirit of the trader was now taking revenge 
by killing the Captain's boy. The mother urged 
the father to give a slave to the diviner as a fee, 
so that he might propitiate the spirit by sacri- 
fice. But the father quietly called in a neighbor, 
and they applied a couple of sticks to the back 



DEA TH OF A CHILD. 24.I 

of the diviner, which quickly broke the spell, 
and brought him to his senses, when he fled 
precipitately. 

The mother of the sick child seemed to have 
no confidence in civilized wisdom, and refused to 
obey the directions of Dr. Livingstone in his 
treatment. She had him cupped on the cheeks, 
and the poor little fellow was soon in a dying 
state. At the request of the father, the dying 
boy was baptized by the missionary, and his soul 
commended to the care and mercy of him who 
said, " Of such is the kingdom of heaven." The 
mother at once ran away, and began a touching, 
doleful wail, expressive of hopeless sorrow. This 
was continued till the child died. In the even- 
ing her female companions came and used a 
screeching musical instrument as an accompani- 
ment to the death wail. 

Association with the whites does not seem to 
have improved the condition of the natives here 
very greatly. In the different districts of An- 
gola, many persons are said to be sacrificed to 
the cruel superstitions of the country, without 
any interference of the Portuguese authorities. 

Persons accused of witchcraft are subjected to 

an ordeal which usually results in their death. 

The accused person will often come from distant 

districts to brave the test and prove her inno- 

16 



242 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

cence. They come to the river Dua, on the 
Cassange, and drink the infusion of a poisonous 
tree, and perish unknown. The poison is very 
virulent. When a strong stomach throws it off, 
the charge is reiterated, and the dose repeated, 
and the victim dies. Hundreds perish in this 
way every year. Those who administer the or- 
deal bind the natives to secrecy. 

These superstitions are the same as those 
which prevail throughout the country north of 
the Lyambesi. This has been thought to indi- 
cate a common origin of the people. They all 
believe that the spirits of the departed mingle 
still among the living, and partake of their food. 
In sickness, sacrifices of fowls and goats are 
offered to propitiate the spirits. One man who 
kills another, offers a sacrifice to lay the spirit 
of his victim. The existence of a sect is re- 
ported who kill men in order to offer their hearts 
to the Barimo. 

'The merchants of Cassange carry on a consid- 
erable trade with the surrounding country by 
means of native traders, called Pombeiros. Two 
of these, Pedro Joa Baptista and Antonio Jose, 
called in the history of Angola " trading blacks," 
actually crossed the continent in the year 1815 — 
the only instance of such an achievement by na- 
tive Portuguese subjects. No European had ever 



DOMESTIC FOWLS. 243 

accomplished it at this time. And this hero 
missionary, whose footprints we are following, 
has the honor of being the first white man to 
perform the task. 

Before reaching the river Quango our party 
was brought to a halt by the sickness of two 
of their number, who "were attacked with fever. 
They stopped near the residence of a Portuguese 
who rejoiced in the name of William Tell. He 
lived here in spite of the prohibition of the Gov- 
ernment. This gentleman came to invite Liv- 
ingstone to dinner, and he drank a little of the 
water they were using from a pond. This gave 
him fever, showing how great was the exposure 
of these travelers. Traveling in -the sun, with 
the thermometer from 96 to 98 in the shade, 
produced great thirst, and they were obliged to 
drink any water they could find. 

The Makololo men were busily engaged in col- 
lecting fowls and pigeons to improve the breed of 
their own country. Mr. Tell presented them 
with some fine, large specimens from Rio Janei- 
ro, of which they were remarkably proud. They 
carried them in triumph through the Balonda 
country as evidence of having been to the sea. 
But, very much to their sorrow, the giant' of the 
whole flock of eighty-four was selected and car- 
ried off by a hungry hyena in search of supper, 



244 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

while the whole party were fast asleep, at the vil- 
lage of Shinte. These Makololo, who were so 
anxious to improve the breed of their domestic 
animals, thought the Portuguese must be an in- 
ferior race of white men, because they kept only 
the native cattle, made no use of the milk, and 
slaughtered indiscriminately their cows and heifer 
calves, which these natives never do. 

They were constantly talking of the fine soil 
for gardens, over which they were passing. 
When Livingstone casually remarked that most 
of the flour used by the Portuguese came from 
another country, they exclaimed, "Are they ig- 
norant of tillage ?" " They know nothing but 
buying and selling ; they are not men." As he 
wrote these remarks of the Makololo, Livingstone 
wished they might reach the ears of his Ango- 
lese friends, and stir them up to develop the re- 
sources of their fine and fertile country. 

On returning to the village of Cypriano, the 
travelers found his step-father had died, and, in 
accordance with the custom of the country, he 
had spent more than his patrimony in funeral 
ceremonies. He was kind and generous as be- 
fore ; but his drinking habits had got him so 
deeply in debt that he was obliged to shun his 
creditors. 

A death had just occurred in a village about a 



FUNERAL RITES. 245 

mile distant, and the people were busily engaged 
in beating drums and firing guns. Their funeral 
orgies somewhat resembles an Irish wake — half 
festive and half mourning. Nothing can be more 
heart-rending than their death wails. Whenever 
these, people look to the future world, they have 
only the most gloomy view of their own utter 
helplessness, and their hopeless condition. They 
think themselves entirely in the power of disem- 
bodied spirits. Hence, they are constantly dep- 
recating their wrath, and trying to appease them. 
They think there is no other cause of death, ex- 
cept witchcraft, which may be averted by charms. 
The whole colored population of Angola are un- 
der the influence of these gross superstitions. 
But for these they might enjoy life very highly. 
They have a splendid climate, and a luxuriant 
country. Upon this subject the words of Liv- 
ingstone must be quoted. "I have often thought, 
in traveling through their land, that it presents 
pictures of beauty which angels might enjoy. 
How often have I beheld, in still mornings, 
scenes the very essence of beauty,- and all bathed 
in a quiet air of delicious warmth ! yet the 
occasional soft motion imparting a pleasing sen- 
sation of coolness as of a fan. Green, grassy 
meadows, the cattle feeding, the goats browsing, 
the kids skipping, the groups of herd-boys with 



246 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

bows, arrows, and spears ; the women wending 
their way to the river with water-pots poised 
jauntily on their heads ; men sewing under the 
shady banians ; and old, gray-headed fathers sit- 
ting on the ground, with staff in hand, listen- 
ing to the morning gossip, while others carry 
trees or branches to repair their hedges ; and all 
this flooded with the bright, African sunshine, 
and the birds singing among the branches before 
the heat of the day has become intense, form 
pictures which never can be forgotten." 

Reaching the river Quango, the ferryman de- 
manded thirty yards of calico for toll, but he 
finally received six thankfully. The canoes were 
wretched, conveying only two persons across at 
a time. The men, however, were quite at home 
in the water, and the party were all over in 
about two hours and a half. Their dexterity in 
managing the cattle and donkeys were the ad- 
miration of the people, who were looking on. 
The proverbial stubbornness of the donkey was 
of little account in this case. He was utterly 
powerless in the hands of these men. Five or 
six of them would seize one of the beasts and 
tumble him into the river, and thus force him to 
swim over. Some of the men swam along by the 
cattle, and drove them on by dashing water at 
their heads. 



THE FEVER. 247 

The travelers did not visit their friend of the 
conical head-dress, who had annoyed them so 
much on their coastward journey, but passed on 
to the residence of some Ambakistas, or natives 
of Ambaca, who had crossed the river in order 
to secure the first chances of trade in bees-wax. 
These people are noted for their fondness for 
knowledge. The history of Portugal, Portuguese 
law, and all kinds of learning, within their reach, 
are studied with eagerness. They write a fine, 
lady-like hand, very highly esteemed by the Por- 
tuguese. They are largely employed as clerks 
and penmen. They are very shrewd in trade, 
and have been called the Jews of Angola. 

Exposure to sun and rain brought Livingstone 
down again with fever. This was the most se- 
vere attack he had suffered. For eight days he 
lay groaning and tossing with intense pain in the 
head, quite oblivious to every thing outside of 
his little tent. But every thing was safe in the 
care of his trusty attendants. By this illness 
they were detained twenty-two days. While the 
head man of the village, near which they were 
stopping, was bargaining and quarreling for a 
piece of meat in their camp, it happened that 
one of the men struck him on the mouth. Liv- 
ingstone's principal men paid five pieces of cloth 
and a gun as an atonement ; but he became 



248 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

more exorbitant in his demands, the more they 
yielded. He sent messengers to the surround- 
ing villages to assist him in avenging the affront 
of a blow on the beard. Knowing the courage of 
these people usually rises with success, Living- 
stone determined to yield no more, and took his 
departure. As they were passing through a for- 
est a little way from the village, they were start- 
led by a body of men rushing after them. The 
burdens of the servants in the rear of the party 
were thrown down, and several shots were fired ; 
but the trees were so thick no one was harmed 
by the firing. After Livingstone's departure 
from Loanda, Captain Henry Reed, of Her 
Majesty's brig, " Linnet," had sent him a six- 
barreled revolver, which reached him at Golungo 
Alto. Forgetting his fever, he seized this and 
staggered rapidly along the path, with two or 
three of his men, toward the assailants. When 
he encountered the chief, the sight of the six- 
shooter pointing at his breast, and the ghastly 
visage of the sick man, produced a very sudden 
revolution in his martial feelings. He exclaimed, 
"0 1 have only come to speak with you, and 
wish peace only." His gun was examined and 
found empty. Both parties now crowded up to 
their chiefs. One of the assailants, coming too 
near, one of Livingstone's men drove him back 



AN AFFRA V. 249 

with his battle-ax. They protested their peace- 
able intentions. But the fact of their having 
knocked down the goods was urged as proof to 
the contrary. 

Livingstone now requested all to sit down ; 
and Pitsane quieted their fears by placing his 
hand upon the muzzle of the revolver. The mis- 
sionary then said to the chief: "If you have 
come with peaceable intentions, we have no 
other; go away home to your village." He re- 
plied, " I am afraid lest you shoot me in the 
back." "If I wanted to kill you," said Living- 
stone, " I could shoot you in the face as well." 
Mosantu called out, " That 's only a Makaloka 
trick ; do n't give him your back." " Tell him to 
observe that I am not afraid of him," said Liv- 
ingstone, and mounted his ox. The villagers ex- 
pected, by their sudden attack, to frighten the 
travelers away from their goods, and thus plun- 
der them easily. 

The assaulting party were, in the issue of the 
affair, very glad to get away unharmed ; and the 
travelers, too, were glad to get off without shed- 
ding blood, or compromising themselves in any 
way that might prove unpleasant in case of a fur- 
ther visit to this part of the country. The mer 
were delighted with their own bravery, and made 
the woods ring with eloquent descriptions of 



250 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the "brilliant conduct before the enemy" if the 
hostilities had not ceased so soon. 

Livingstone was so feeble he was glad to avail 
himself of the company of Senhor Pascoal and 
other native traders, who were traveling for some 
distance on the same route with him. One of 
these Pombeiros, or traders, had eight good-look- 
ing women chained together, whom he was tak- 
ing to the country of Matiamvo, to sell for ivory. 
They were probably captives taken from the 
rebel Cassanges. 

Reaching the Loajima on the 30th of April, 
they were obliged to construct a bridge to cross 
the river. This task, however, was soon accom- 
plished. Senhor Pascoal found a tree growing in 
a horizontal position, and it reaching partly across, 
they soon constructed a bridge of ropes made 
from the tough, climbing plants which abound in 
the country. The stream was about twenty-five 
yards wide at this point. The people in this re- 
gion are more slender in form, and of lighter 
olive color than any seen elsewhere. The mode 
of dressing the hair, adopted by them, and their 
general features, reminded Livingstone of the 
ancient Egyptians. A few of the ladies attach 
the hair to a hoop, which encircles the head. 
Others wear an ornament of woven hair and 
hide, decorated with beads, sometimes adding the 



KAWAWA. 251 

tails of buffaloes. Others still, weave their own 
hair on pieces of hide, and give them the form 
of buffaloes' horns, or make a single horn in 
front. Some of them tattoo their bodies by in- 
serting some black substances beneath the skin, 
which makes an elevated cicatrix half an inch in 
length. These figures are sometimes in the form 
of stars. 

At the village of Nyakalonga, the travelers 
were handsomely treated by a sister of the late 
Matiamvo. She desired her people to guide 
them to the next village ; but they declined to 
do this, unless the party would engage in trade 
with them. She, however, sent her son without 
requiring payment. She asked them to wait an 
hour or two, till she could get ready a present 
of manioc, roots, meal, ground-nuts, and a fowl. 
After the opposite experiences lately met with on 
the path of the slave-traders, these civilities were 
very pleasant. 

On the 2d of June our company halted for the 
night at the village of Kawawa, who is a man of 
some importance in this country. The village is 
surrounded by a forest, and consists of forty or 
fifty huts. Drums were beating over the body 
of a man who had died the day before, and the 
hubbub continued all night long. Some women 
were making a clamorous wail at the door of the 



252 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

hut where the man had died, and talking to him 
as though he were living. A person fantastically 
dressed, with a great number of feathers, repre- 
senting one of the Barimo, left the people at the 
wailing and dance, and went away into the deep 
forest. 

Next morning a very agreeable intercourse 
was had with Kawawa ; and most of the day 
was spent in talking with him and his people. 
When his visit was returned, he was found in his 
large court-house, which was' very well built, and 
in the shape of a bee-hive. 

A case was brought before him for judgment. 
It was that of a poor man and his wife, who were 
accused of having bewitched the man whose 
wake had just been held in the village. With- 
out waiting to hear a word of the defense, the 
chief said, " You have killed one of my children ; 
bring all yours before me, that I may choose 
which of them shall be mine instead." The wife 
defended herself with eloquence, but it was of no 
avail. These are the means resorted to by these 
chiefs to obtain subjects for the slave markets. 
In the evening the magic lantern was exhibited. 
All were delighted except Kawawa, who mani- 
fested fear, and several times attempted to run 
away, but was prevented by the crowd. The 
more intelligent understood the explanations, and 



TRIBUTE REQUIRED. 253 

expatiated upon them eloquently to the obtuse 
and stupid. 

Notwithstanding the great civilities which had 
passed between them, when Livingstone, on the 
next morning, sent word to Kawawa that he was 
ready to start, he replied, in his figurative lan- 
guage, " If an ox come in the way of a man, ought 
he not to eat it ?" The white man had given an 
ox to the Chibogue, and must give him the same, 
with a gun, gunpowder, and a black robe, like that 
he had seen spread out to dry, the day before. 
If the ox was refused, he said a man must be 
given, and a book, by which he might see the 
heart of Matiamvo, and which would forewarn 
him if Matiamvo should ever resolve to cut off 
his head. After sending this message he came 
to the encampment and said he had seen all the 
goods of the travelers, and, unless they paid this 
tribute, he would prevent their passing the Kasai 
River, which lay before them. Livingstone re- 
plied that the goods were his property ; that he 
would never have it said that a white man paid 
tribute to a black ; and that he should cross the 
river in spite of him. 

He now gave orders to his people to arm them- 
selves, and when Livingstone's men saw them 
rushing for their bows, arrows, and spears, they 
were quite panic-stricken. He ordered them to 



254 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

move on, and not to fire, unless Kawawa's men 
struck the first blow. But when he started on- 
ward, many of his men did not follow. Soon as 
he discovered this he dismounted from the ox, 
and rushed toward them with his revolver in hand. 
Kawawa ran away, and his people showed their 
backs. He shouted to the men to take up the 
baggage and march on. All obeyed but one 
who was preparing to fire on Kawawa, when a 
punch on the head from Livingstone's pistol 
prompted him to obey orders, and march on. 
As they moved off into the forest Kawawa's men 
stood looking at them, but did not fire a shot or 
an arrow. Kawawa, we are told, is not a good 
specimen of the Balonda chiefs ; and it is said 
he has good reasons to think Matiamvo, who is 
paramount chief of all this country, will, some 
time, take off his head for disregarding the rights 
of strangers. 

When they reached the river, about ten miles 
distant, they found the chief had preceded them 
by four men, who came with orders to the ferry- 
men to refuse them passage, unless they gave up 
the articles that had been mentioned, and one of 
their men besides. This demand for one of their 
number always touched every heart. The river 
was a hundred yards wide, and very deep. The 
ferrymen asked one of the Batoka if they had 



A CR OSS THE RIVER. 255 

rivers in his country, and he answered, truthfully, 
" No ; we have none." Yet, the reader will re- 
member, there were other natives in the com- 
pany who were very familiar with crossing rivers. 
When the canoes were taken away the ferrymen 
thought them entirely unable to cross. Pitsane 
stood on the bank gazing with a careless air upon 
the water. He watched the ferrymen carefully, 
however, and made accurate observation, of where 
the canoes were hidden, in the reeds, and, after 
it became dark, one of them was borrowed, with- 
out consulting the proprietors, and, in a short 
time, the whole party were nicely bivouacked on 
the southern bank — the canoe being returned to 
the side from which it had been taken. 

Just as they were ready to start, next morning, 
Kawawa's people were seen on the opposite bank, 
amazed to see them across the river, and ready to 
proceed on their journey. One of them called 
out, at last, "Ah, ye are bad." To which Pitsane 
replied, "Ah, ye are good, and we thank you for 
the loan of your canoe." Livingstone took care 
to explain the whole affair to Katema and the 
other chiefs. They all agreed that his conduct 
was justifiable, and right in the' circumstances, 
and that Matiamvo would approve it. It is the 
custom of these chiefs to send explanations 
to each other in this manner, whenever any 



256 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

thing occurs which might bear an unfavorable 
construction. This prevents their losing charac- 
ter. There is public opinion even among these 
savages. 

Katema and Shinte both welcomed the travel- 
ers on their return past their villages, and 
treated them with great kindness and hospitality. 
They spent a little time with each of these chiefs. 
Having reached the Leeba, they descended the 
river by canoes, some of which they purchased 
from the Balonda, and others were loaned them 
by the female chief, Nyamoana, a sister of Shinte. 
They waited a day, opposite the village of Ma- 
nenko, and sent a message to her a distance of 
about fifteen miles from the river. Her husband 
was at once sent with liberal presents of food, 
she having a burn on the foot, which rendered 
her unable to travel. 

The next morning Sambanza performed the 
ceremony called Kasendi, for cementing friend- 
*ship between the two parties. Sambanza and 
Pitsane were the principals in the ceremony. 
They joined hands, and small incisions were 
made on the clasped hands, on the right cheeks, 
foreheads, and the pits of the stomach of each. 
A small quantity of blood was taken from these 
incisions with a stalk of grass. The blood of one 
was put into a pot of beer, and of the other in. a 



CEMENTING BRIENDSHIP. 2$7 

second pot of beer. Each then drinks the oth- 
er's blood, and thus they become blood-relations 
and perpetual friends. During the drinking of 
the beer, some of the company present ratify the 
treaty by uttering short sentences, and beating 
on the ground with clubs. 

The principals are now bound to disclose to 
each other any impending evil. Thus, for ex- 
ample, if Sekeletu should resolve to attack the 
Balonda, Pitsane would be obliged to inform 
Sambanza, so that he might escape. And a sim- 
ilar obligation rests upon the other party. They 
now gave each other the most valuable presents 
they were able to bestow. Sambanza walked 
away clothed in Pitsane's suit of green baize, 
made in Loanda; and Pitsane received two of 
the highly prized shells, such as Shinte gave 
Livingstone, and abundant supplies of food. 

Livingstone once became blood-relation to a 
young African woman by accident. She had a 
large cartilaginous tumor between the bones of 
the forearm, which she wished him to remove, 
and, after obtaining the sanction of her husband, 
he complied with her request. During the oper- 
ation some blood spurted from one of the small 
arteries into his eye. As he wiped it out she 
remarked, " You were a friend before ; now you 
are a blood-relation, and when you pass this way 
17 



258 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

always send me word, that I may cook food for 
you." 

While passing down this river Livingstone had 
an encounter with a buffalo — one of the most 
dangerous beasts of the forest He had shot a 
zebra, wounding it in the hind leg, and two of 
his men were pursuing it. While walking slowly 
over the grassy plain, after the men, he saw a 
solitary buffalo, which had been disturbed by 
some of the party, charging upon him at tremen- 
dous speed. As he cocked his rifle, with the 
intention of giving the animal a shot in the fore- 
head when he should come within three or four 
yards, the thought flashed across his mind, 
" What if your gun misses fire ?" When within 
about fifteen yards, a small bush and bunch of 
grass made the buffalo turn a little in his course, 
so as to expose his shoulder. As the rifle 
cracked Livingstone fell flat upon his face. The 
pain made the furious animal suddenly change 
his purpose of attack, and he bounded past down 
to the water, where he was found dead. When 
Livingstone, immediately afterward, in the pres- 
ence of his men, expressed his thankfulness to 
God for his escape from this peril, they were 
very much offended at themselves that they 
were not near to shield him. The bush near 
him was a camel thorn, and reminded him that 



THE RETURN. 2$^ 

he had returned again to the land of thorns. 
The country he had just left is one of ever- 
greens. 

Reaching the town of Libonta, on the 27th of 
July, they were received with extravagant dem- 
onstrations of joy. They were looked upon as 
though they had risen from the dead, for the 
most skillful of the diviners had long ago de- 
clared that they had all perished. The women 
came forth to meet them, with their curious 
dancing gestures and loud "luliloos." Some car- 
ried a mat and stick as a mimic shield and 
spear. Others rushed forward and kissed the 
hands and cheeks^ of their acquaintances in the 
party. These demonstrations raised such a dust 
that it was a relief to reach the men gathered in 
the kotla, and seated in true African dignity and 
decorum. After numerous expressions of joy, 
Livingstone arose, thanked them, and explained 
the causes of their long delay ; but left the full 
report to be made by their own countrymen. 
He had before been the chief speaker ; now he 
would leave it to them. Pitsane then delivered 
a speech nearly an hour in length, giving a very 
flattering picture of the journey, of the kindness 
of the white men, and of Mr. Gabriel in particu- 
lar. He said Livingstone had done more than 
they had expected. He had not only opened up 



260 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the path to the other white men, but had concil- 
iated the chiefs along the route. 

The next day was celebrated as a day of 
thanksgiving to God, for bringing them back in 
safety to their friends. The men who had been 
with the white men decked themselves in their 
best clothing — with red caps and white suits. 
They tried to imitate the walk of the soldiers 
they had seen in Loanda, and called themselves 
Livingstone's " braves " — batlabani is their word. 
Livingstone spoke to them upon the goodness 
of God in preserving the travelers from all their 
perils among strange tribes and diseases. A 
similar service was held again in the afternoon. 

Two oxen were given them for food by the 
men, and the women brought abundant supplies 
of butter, milk, and meal. This was all a gratuity. 
Yet it was cause of regret to Livingstone that 
he could make no return. His men explained 
the total expenditure of their means. The Li- 
bontese very generously replied, "It does not 
matter ; you have opened up a path for us, and 
we shall have sleep." 

From quite a distance strangers came flocking 
in, most of them bringing presents. These Liv- 
ingstone distributed among his men. The sick- 
ness they had suffered, and many delays, had 
exhausted the large stock of goods with which 



KINDNESS SHOWN. 26 1 

they had started from Loanda. They returned 
as poor as when they started ; yet no distrust 
was manifested, and Livingstone's poverty did 
not diminish his influence. His men said, 
"Though we return as poor as we went, we 
have not gone in vain ;" and they began at 
once to gather tusks of hippopotami and other 
ivory for a second journey. As they passed 
down the Barotse Valley they were treated with 
the greatest kindness. An ox was given them 
at every village, and, sometimes, two were pre- 
sented them. Livingstone thus expresses his 
feelings awakened by this kindness : " I felt, and 
still feel, most deeply grateful, and tried to benefit 
them in the only way I could — by imparting the 
knowledge of that Savior who can comfort and 
supply them in time of need — and my prayer is 
that he may send his good Spirit to instruct 
them, and lead them into his kingdom. Even 
now I earnestly long to return and make some 
recompense to them for their kindness." 

At Naliele, where the party arrived on the 1st 
of August, they found the chief, Mpololo, in 
great affliction. His daughter and her infant 
child had just been murdered by an enemy, who 
had entered the hut by night, and strangled 
them. He then tried to burn the hut, but, in 
attemping to kindle a fire, he awakened a serv- 



262 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

ant, and was thus detected. Both the murderer 
and his wife were thrown into the river. The 
wife was punished as an accessory before the 
fact, " having known of her husband's intentions, 
and not revealing them." 

Many of the wives of Livingstone's men had 
married other men during their absence of two 
years. Among the number was Mashnana's wife, 
who was the mother of two of his children. He 
put on the appearance of indifference, with re- 
spect to the matter, and said, "Why, wives are 
as plentiful as grass, and I can get another ; she 
may go." But still, he would add, " If I had that 
fellow I would open his ears for him." Most of 
the men had more wives than one, and Living- 
stone tried to console them by telling them they 
had enough yet, and more than he had. Some, 
however, had lost, in this way, the only wives 
they ever had. In these cases, Livingstone 
asked the chief to restore them. 
• Some time before reaching Sesheke, news 
reached him that a party of Matabele — the peo- 
ple of Mosilikatse — had left some packages of 
goods, sent him by Mr. Moffat, on the bank of 
the river near Victoria Falls. 

These two tribes are determined enemies of 
each other, and when the Matabele called to 
the Makololo, from the south bank of the river, 



GOODS RECEIVED. 263 

asking them to come over with canoes and re- 
ceive the goods sent by Moffat to "Nake" — the 
white man — the Makololo replied, " Go along 
with you ; we know better than that. How 
could he tell Moffat to send his goods here, he 
having gone away to the north ?" The Matabele 
answered, " Here are the goods ; we leave them 
before you, and if you leave them to perish the 
guilt will be yours." The Makololo thought it 
was a trick of their enemies to put witchcraft 
medicine in all their hands, and thus do them 
injury. But, after the Matabele had left, and 
after much divination, they at last went over, 
and, with fear and trembling, removed the pack- 
ages to an island in the middle of the river. 
They then built a hut over them to protect them 
from the weather. And here Livingstone found 
them, in perfect safety, where they had been de- 
posited for a year. The news was stale which 
was found with the packages ; but there were 
some good eatables sent by Mrs. Moffat. The 
words of the great explorer himself must be 
given upon one point, of which no one else can 
speak so well : 

"Among other things I discovered that my 
friend, Sir Roderick Murchisson, while in his 
study, in London, had arrived at the same con- 
clusion respecting the form of the African conti- 



264 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

nent as I had lately come to on the spot ; and 
that from attentive study of the geological map 
of Mr. Bain, and other materials, some of which 
were furnished by the discoveries of Mr. Oswell 
and myself, he had not only clearly enunciated 
the peculiar configuration as an hypothesis in his 
discourse before the Geographical Society in 
1852, but had even the assurance to send me out 
a copy for my information ! There was not 
much use in nursing my chagrin at being thus 
fairly cut out by the man who had foretold 
the existence of the Australian gold before its 
discovery, for here it was in black and white. In 
his easy chair he had forestalled me by three 
years, though I had been working hard through 
jungle, marsh, and fever, and, since the light 
dawned on my mind at Dilolo, had been cherish- 
ing the pleasing delusion that I should be the 
first to suggest the idea that the interior of Af- 
rica was a watery plateau of less elevation than 
tke flanking, hilly ranges." 

A few days were spent at Sesheke, waiting for 
the horses which had been left at Linyanti. 
When the latter place was reached every thing 
which had been left there in the care of the 
natives — wagon and goods — was found perfectly 
safe. A great picho of all the people was called 
to hear the report of the journey, and receive the 



A T SESHEKE. 26$ 

presents sent by the Governor and merchants of 
Loanda. Livingstone stated that these things 
were not his property, but were sent as gifts from 
the white men to show their friendly feelings, and 
their desire to enter into commercial relations 
with the Makololo. He then requested his com- 
panions to give a true account of what they had 
seen. The marvelous things did not lose any 
thing in telling. The climax of the whole story 
invariably was that the travelers had finished the 
whole world, having turned back only when there 
was no land. The presents were received with 
delight. On Sunday, when Sekeletu, the chief, 
entered church in his military uniform, it at- 
tracted more attention than the sermon. Liv- 
ingstone was complimented and flattered con- 
stantly. Volunteers offered to accompany him 
to the east coast. They wished to be able to 
return and relate strange things like his former 
companions. 

A second picho was called soon after this to 
discuss the question of the removal of the tribe to 
the Barotse Valley, in order to be nearer the mar- 
ket. Some of the old men did not like to give 
up the line of defense afforded by the rivers 
Chobe and Lyambesi against their enemies, the 
Matabele. And the young men objected because 
the grass grows so rank at the Barotse, that they 



266 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

could not run fast, and because it is never cool 
there. 

Sekeletu at last rose and addressed Living- 
stone. He said : " I am perfectly satisfied as to 
the great advantage for trade, of the path which 
you have opened, and think that we ought to go 
to the Barotse in order to make the way from us 
to Loanda shorter ; but with whom am I to live 
there ? If you were coming with us I would re- 
move to-morrow ; but now, you are going to the 
white man's country to bring ma Robert, [Mrs. 
Livingstone,] and when you return you will find 
me near to the spot on which you wish to 
dwell." 




AMONG THE MONKEYS. 



NEW EXPEDITION. 267 



CHAPTER X. 

A New Journey Begun — Falls of Victoria — Elephant 

. Hunting — Man Tossed by a Buffalo — Arrival at Killi- 

mane — Embarking for England — Insanity of Sekweiiu. 

The difficulty which the late exploration had 
shown to lie in the way of opening a wagon road 
to Loanda, led to plans for a journey to the east 
coast. And the question now came up as to 
what part of the coast they should attempt to 
reach, and by what route. Some Arab traders, 
now among the Makololo, had come from Lyan- 
zibar through a country of peaceful tribes. They 
described the population as located in small vil- 
lages, like the Balonda. They told of three large 
rivers and a lake filled with islands, which it re- 
quired three days to cross in canoes. This 
seemed the safer route, but, as it was desirable 
to find a permanent water conveyance, the path 
along the Lyambas was decided upon. 

Ben Habib, one of the Arab traders, being 
about to return to Loanda, asked for the daugh- 
ter of Sebituane — now about twelve years old — 
in marriage. The Arabs adopt this plan to gain 



268 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

influence in the tribes. As Livingstone was a 
bosom friend of the chief, he was consulted with 
reference to the matter, and objected to her be- 
ing taken away where they might never see her 
again. But the prudent and wily Arab will, 
doubtless, renew his suit on some other occa- 
sion with success. 

Sekeletu was very fond of the sweetened cof- 
fee, and dined with Livingstone as long as his 
stock of sugar held out. When told how it was 
manufactured from the sugar-cane, he was anx- 
ious to procure a sugar-mill, and said he would, 
in that case,- plant large quantities of the cane. 
He gave Livingstone an order for a sugar-mill, 
a mohair coat, a good rifle, beads, brass wire, and 
added, "any other beautiful thing you may see 
in your own country." When it was suggested 
that a large amount of ivory would be necessary 
to execute this commission, both the chief and 
his counselors said, " The ivory is all your own ; 
if you leave any in the country it will be your 
own fault." 

This new journey was begun on the 3d of No- 
vember, Livingstone being accompanied for some 
distance, at the start, by Sekeletu and about two 
hundred of his people. The whole company 
were fed at the expense of the chief. To sup- 
ply them with food he took cattle from .every 



NIGHT STORM. 269 

station they passed on the route. Coming to a 
patch of tsetse between Linyanti and Sesheke, 
Livingstone and Sekeletu, with about forty of 
his young men, waited to pass it by night, while 
the rest of the company went forward in day-time. 
About ten o'clock at night, during this march, 
it became so intensely dark that both horses 
and men were completely blinded. The flashes 
of lightning spread over the sky in branches like 
those of a tree, and eight or ten in number at 
one time. The horses trembled and neighed 
with fright; and every new flash showed the 
men taking different directions, laughing and 
stumbling against each other. The thunder 
came in louder peals than any other country 
than Africa can produce. Then the rain came 
down in torrents, and, after the intense heat of 
the day, the drenched travelers were soon un- 
comfortably cold. Seeing a fire in the distance, 
which had been kindled by some other people 
journeying along this route, they gladly turned 
aside to share its warmth. Livingstone lay down 
on the cold ground, expecting to spend an un- 
comfortable night — most of his clothing having 
gone forward with the rest of the company — 
but the chief, Sekeletu, covered the missionary 
with his blanket, and lay down himself without 
covering. With reference to this generous action 



270 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

the Doctor says : " I was much affected by this 
act of genuine kindness. If such men must per- 
ish by the advance of civilization, as certain 
races of animals do before others, it is a pity. 
God grant that ere this time comes they may 
receive that Gospel which is a solace for the 
soul in death !" 

Descending the river Chobe about ten miles 
to NampCne, at the head of the rapids, the trav- 
elers were obliged to leave the canoes and go on 
foot along the banks of the river. That night 
they slept opposite the island of Chondo, and 
crossing the Leknine the next morning, they 
came to the island of Kalai, formerly the home 
of Sekote, one of the Bakota chiefs whom Sebit- 
uane conquered and drove out from the country. 
Intending to strike off to the north-east from 
this point, Livingstone determined to visit the 
falls of Mosioatunya, more anciently called Shon- 
gwe. " This first long name seems to have refer- 
ence to the vapor and the noise produced by the 
cataract. Without going near them the natives 
heard the noise of the falls at a distance, and 
said, with awe, "Mosi oa tunya" — smoke does 
sound there. The meaning of the word Shongwe 
could not be so definitely determined. The word 
for pot resembles this, and it may mean a seeth- 
ing caldron. 



CATARACTS. 2J\ 

After twenty minutes' sail from Kalai, Living- 
stone came in sight of five vast columns of vapor, 
bending with the wind, and rising till their tops 
mingled with the clouds. They were white to- 
ward the base, but dark further up, so as very 
closely to resemble "smoke." The phenomenon 
is just like that seen where large tracts of grass 
are burning in Africa. The whole scene was 
one of extraordinary beauty. The islands and 
banks of the river are ornamented with trees of 
great variety of color and form — some of them 
covered with blossoms. "There, towering over 
all, stands the great, burly baobab, each of whose 
enormous arms would form the trunk of a large 
tree, beside groups of graceful palms, which, with 
their feathery-shaped leaves depicted on the sky, 
lend their beauty to the scene. As a hiero- 
glyphic, they always mean 'far from home,' for 
one can never get over their foreign air in a 
picture or a landscape. The silvery mohono, 
which, in the tropics, is, in form, like the cedar 
of Lebanon, stands in pleasing contrast with the 
dark color of the motsouri, whose cypress-form 
is dotted over at present with its pleasant, scarlet 
fruit. Some trees resemble the great, spreading 
oak ; others assume the character of our own 
elms and chestnuts ; but no one can imagine the 
beauty of the view from any thing witnessed in 



272 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

England. It never had been seen before by 
European eyes ; but scenes so lovely must have 
been gazed upon by angels in their flight. The 
only want felt is that of mountains in the back- 
ground." 

On three sides of the falls there are ridges 
three or four hundred feet high, clothed with 
forest — the red soil to be seen occasionally 
among the trees. There is an island in the 
middle of the river at the falls, and right on the 
edge of the rock, over which the waters leap. 
In reaching this island there is danger of being 
swept down by the rapid currents rushing along 
either side. But, taking men well acquainted 
with the rapids, and a very light canoe, Living- 
stone landed upon the island in safety. Stand- 
ing upon .the island, within a few yards of the 
spot, the vast body of water seemed to disap- 
pear in the earth — the opposite lip of the fissure 
into which it fell being only eighty feet distant. 
Creeping with awe to the verge of the precipice, 
Livingstone peered down into the fearful chasm 
and saw a large crack or vent in the rock, reach- 
ing from bank to bank of the river, so that a 
stream of water a thousand yards wide leaped 
down a hundred feet, and, at the bottom of the 
falls, was suddenly compressed into the narrow 
compass of twenty yards. This narrow passage 



THE CATARACTS. 273 

continues for miles through the basaltic rock 
of the hills, through which the waters roar, and 
rush, and boil. Our traveler pronounces this the 
most wonderful scene he witnessed in Africa. 
Looking down into the fissure, on the right of 
the island, he saw a dense white cloud, with 
two bright rainbows resting on it. From this 
cloud a jet of vapor rushed up, to the hight of 
two hundred or three hundred feet, looking just 
like steam. Reaching that hight, its hue was 
changed to that of dark smoke, and condensing 
there it fell back in a constant shower, which 
soon drenched the traveler thoroughly. This 
shower falls mainly on the opposite bank of the 
fissure. And a few yards back from its edge 
there stands a straight hedge of evergreen trees, 
whose leaves are always wet. From the roots of 
these trees a number of little rills run down the 
steep wall of rock into the gulf; but the column 
of vapor licks them entirely up, and bears them 
upward to the sky again. So though they are 
perpetually running down, they never reach the 
bottom of the gulf. The columns of vapor which 
have been spoken of are undoubtedly caused by 
the sudden compression of the water, falling from 
so great a hight into a wedge-shaped rocky basin. 
From measurement of the river at another point, 
Livingstone estimated the width immediately 
18 



274 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

above the falls at a thousand yards. It was very 
low at the time of his visit, and he thought the 
width of water on the edge of the precipice 
was six hundred yards wide and three feet deep. 
The Makololo say the fissure through which the 
stream flows, below the falls, is deeper as you go 
eastward. There is one part of the wall where 
persons accustomed to it can go down by crouch- 
ing to a sitting posture. The Makololo say they 
once pursued some Batoka people who, in the 
hurry of their flight, being unable to stop at the 
edge of the precipice, were dashed to pieces at 
the bottom. They saw the stream so far below 
that it looked like a " white cord." The depth of 
the abyss was so great — three hundred feet, prob- 
ably — that they were glad to crawl away, "hold- 
ing on to the ground." 

On returning to Kalai, Livingstone told Seke- 
letu he had nothing else in his country worth 
showing, after the falls. This excited his curios- 
ity to visit them the next day. 

On the 20th of November the missionary bade 
farewell to Sekeletu, and pushed forward on his 
arduous journey, accompanied with one hundred 
and fourteen men whom Sekeletu furnished him 
to carry the ivory to the coast. The Batoka tribes 
who inhabit the islands and region of the Zam- 
besi are very dark in color, while those living on 



STRANGE CUSTOM. 2?$ 

the high lands are much lighter, or about the 
color of coffee and milk. They all follow the 
singular custom of knocking out the upper front 
teeth of both sexes at the age of maturity. Se- 
bituane tried to eradicate the practice from those 
tribes under his authority, by inflicting severe 
punishment upon those parents who continued 
the custom with their children. But still the 
practice was kept up. When questioned respect- 
ing the origin of the practice, the Batoka say 
they do it to be like oxen. Those who retain 
their teeth they say are like zebras. The Mako- 
lolo give a more laughable explanation. They 
say that the wife of a chief having bitten her hus- 
band, in a quarrel, he punished her by ordering 
her front teeth knocked out, and all the men in 
the tribe followed his example, with their wives. 
But this, of course, does not explain why they 
knocked out their own teeth too, as well as those 
of the women. A large number of these Batoka 
were in Livingstone's party. 

For fear that the buffaloes in the country 
through which they were now passing had intro- 
duced tsetse, the oxen were moved only in the 
night, while Livingstone, with some of his at- 
tendants, marched on foot in the day-time. The 
company was divided into different parties or 
messes, each one having its head man, through 



276 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

whom orders were given from the white chief, 
and food distributed. Each party knew its own 
place in the encampment, and they took turns in 
pulling grass for Livingstone's bed. 

The boabab-tree and a kind of sterculia, which 
is the most common tree in Loanda, flourish in 
this region. The moshuka-tree was bearing fruit 
at this time. The fruit tastes like a pear, and 
resembles in appearance a small apple. It has a 
harsh rind, and four large seeds. The tree grows 
to the hight of fifteen or twenty feet, and has large 
glossy leaves, as large as a man's hand. The 
men lived upon the fruit almost entirely for sev- 
eral days. The supply of rain had been small, 
the soil was quite dry, and the leaves drooped 
for want of moisture. But drought does not af- 
fect the fruit trees, unless it occurs at the time of 
their blossoming. 

Abundance of maneko, a curious fruit, with a 
horny rind split in five pieces, was found. These 
sections, when chewed, are full of a glutinous 
matter — sweet as sugar. The fruit is about the 
size of the walnut, and the seeds — which are not 
eaten — are covered with a fine silky down. The 
Batoka ate the nju, a sort of bean, growing in a 
large square pod. They ate, too, the pulp be- 
tween the seeds of the nux vomica and the mot- 
sintsela. The motsikiri is a magnificent tree 



SOLDIER-ANTS. 277 

which grows here, bearing dark evergreen leaves, 
and yielding oil. The Batoka say no one ever 
dies of hunger here, and the abundance of fruit 
leads one easily to credit the statement. A spe- 
cies of leucodendron which abounds here, when 
found where no rain has lately fallen, is seen to 
twist its leaves, during the heat of the day, so 
that only the edge is exposed to the sun. The 
acacias and mopanes, in similar circumstances, 
fold their leaves so as to present the smallest 
possible surface to the sun, like the eucalypti of 
Australia. 

While stopping a day or two at the village of 
Marimba, Livingstone told these people, for the 
first time they had ever heard it, of the love of 
God shown in sending his Son to save them from 
sin and ruin. 

While walking down to the forest one day, 
after addressing them, he saw many regiments of 
the black soldier-ants which he had frequently 
noticed in different parts of the country. They 
are so singular in their habits that a brief de- 
scription of them will, doubtless, be interesting 
to the reader. They are about half an inch in 
length ; black, with a tinge of gray. They march 
three or four abreast, and when disturbed utter a 
distinct hissing or chirping sound. They follow 
a few leaders, distinguished by their greater size, 



278 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

and seem to be guided by a scent left on the 
path by them. If a handful of earth is thrown 
on their path in the middle of a regiment, those 
behind it are completely lost. They come up to 
the earth, but do not venture to cross it, though 
not one-fourth of an inch in hight. They wheel 
around and regain their path ; but never think of 
retreating to their nest. After fifteen minutes of 
hissing and confusion, one of them will make a 
circuit of a foot around the handful of earth, and, 
striking the path beyond, the rest soon follow in 
the same roundabout way. A basin of water 
thrown upon the path by which a regiment of 
these curious insects had passed, puzzled them 
for half an hour, when they came to it on their 
return home. The path was at last found, by one 
bolder than the rest, making a long circuit around 
the place where the water had fallen, and reach- 
ing the way beyond it. 

They are in the habit of attacking the white 
ants in their homes. Soon as they are discovered 
on the march by these latter species, they are 
seen to rush about in the greatest fear and con- 
fusion. The soldier-ants march upon them. The 
black leaders or captains seize the white ants, and 
sting them, seeming to inject a fluid similar in 
effect to chloroform, which renders their prey in- 
sensible, only having life enough to move one or 



A WINGED INSECT. 279 

two front legs a little. The rank and file now 
seize them and carry them off. 

It has been supposed by many who have studied 
the habits of these creatures, that they make slaves 
of the white ants ; but Livingstone's observation 
shows that they never recover from the state of 
coma produced by the sting of the black leaders. 
Little heaps of the heads and legs of the white 
ants may be frequently found at the door where 
the black soldiers enter their barracks. Hence 
the evidence is pretty conclusive that these ma- 
rauders are not slave-hunters, as they have been 
called, but cannibals. Livingstone saw a colony 
of them removing their eggs from a place where 
they were exposed to being flooded by recent 
rains. They numbered about twelve hundred. 
The eggs were carried a little distance by one 
party, and laid down, when others took them up 
and carried them farther on. Every ant in the 
colony seemed to be hard at work, but there were 
no white slave-ants. 

There is a membrane-winged insect whose hab- 
its resemble those of the mason-bee, called the 
"plasterer," which injects a fluid from its sting 
that causes stupefaction, just as has been re- 
marked of the soldier-ants. This insect is about 
one inch and one-fourth in length, and jet black. 
It may be seen coming into the house, carrying 



280 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

in its fore legs a little ball of soft plaster about 
the size of a pea. When it has found a suitable 
place, it constructs a cell about the length of its 
body, making the walls quite thin, and plastering 
them smooth inside, leaving an opening at one 
end. Then it brings seven or eight caterpillars 
or spiders, made insensible by the fluid from its 
sting, and deposits them in its cell. Then one of 
its own larvae is housed here, which as it grows 
finds plenty of good fresh food. The caterpillars 
are in a state of coma, but being still alive, do 
not putrefy or dry up as they would if dead. 

On the river Kalomo our party of travelers met 
with an elephant without tusks — a very rare thing 
in Africa. Even this huge animal is inspired with 
fear of man, and this one moved off soon as she 
discovered our party. Large herds of buffaloes 
were here seen feeding in every direction. Crawl- 
ing up close to a herd, Livingstone shot a fine 
large one. The rest of the herd not seeing the 
Qnemy gazed about in wonder, and then came 
back to their wounded companion. It is the 
habit of all these wild animals to gore a wounded 
or sick companion, and expel him from the herd. 
In this case the rest of the herd commenced an 
attack upon the fallen buffalo, and when our 
party of travelers made their appearance, con- 
tinuing the goring while running away, they 



BUFFALOES. 28 1 

lifted the wounded animal on their horns, and 
half supporting him in the crowd, bore him away. 
The scene afforded amusement to Livingstone's 
men, who thought the buffaloes were helping 
away their unfortunate comrade. He was shot 
between the fourth and fifth rib. The bullet 
passed through both lungs, and a rib on the op- 
posite side — lodging against the skin. It was an 
eight-ounce ball, yet he ran some distance, and 
was killed by the spears of the men, who drove 
him into a pool of water, and there dispatched 
him. 

The herd, which at first ran off in the direction 
of the camp, soon came bounding back again. 
Our travelers took refuge on an ant hill, and as 
they went past on full gallop, Livingstone had 
opportunity to observe that the leader of a herd 
of sixty was an old cow. She was allowed a full 
half length in front. On her withers about twenty 
buffalo birds were sitting. These birds are the 
guardian angels of the buffalo. When the ani- 
mal is quietly feeding, the bird is seen hopping 
on the ground, picking up food, or sitting on the 
buffalo's back ridding it of the insects that some- 
times burrow in its skin. The sight of the 
bird is more acute than that of the buffalo, and 
upon the approach of danger flies up, and thus 
gives warning to the animal, which immediately 



282 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

raises its head, and looks about to discover the 
danger. Sometimes the birds accompany the 
buffalo upon the wing in his flight, and at others 
ride upon his back. 

Another bird, the Bitphaga Africanus, attends 
the rhinoceros in a similar way. The Bechu- 
anas call it "kala." When they wish to express 
their dependence upon another, they address him 
as "my rhinoceros," as if they were the birds. 

The leader of a herd of animals is usually the 
most wary of all. That seems to be the principle 
upon which they are selected. When the herd 
sees any one of their number, or any other ani- 
mal taking to flight, they invariably follow the 
example. Thus it is the most timid naturally 
becomes the leader. When a "leader" is shot, 
the whole herd are so bewildered that for a brief 
time they stop, and seem unable to decide which 
way to run. When the females bring forth their 
young, their shyness is very greatly increased. 
This seems to lead to what is so often witnessed 
among many of these animals — the division of 
the sexes into separate herds. This is annually 
seen among the antelopes. And the male and 
female elephants are never seen in one herd. 

Sunday, the ioth of December, was spent at 
the village of Monze, who is chief of all the Ba- 
toka of this country. His town is near a hill, 



THE CHIEF MONZE. 283 

called Kisekise. From this hill there is an ex- 
tensive view of the country for a distance of thirty 
miles around. The land is undulating, and open, 
with but few trees. The people live in small vil- 
lages — widely scattered. They cultivate large 
gardens ; but, though their country affords good 
pasturage, they have no cattle — only a few goats 
and fowls. Monze came to visit the "white 
chief," on Sunday morning. He was wrapped in 
a large cloth. He rolled himself over in the dust, 
as an expression of homage to Livingstone, at 
the same time screaming, "Kina bomba!" One 
of his wives, who accompanied him, joined lustily 
in the screaming, and was greatly excited — hav- 
ing never seen a white man before. She had a 
small battle-ax in her hand, and would have 
been comely in her looks if her teeth had been 
spared. The chief Monze soon became quite 
cordial and frank — spending most of the day in 
conversation. He gave Livingstone a goat and 
a fowl, and was highly pleased with a present of 
handkerchiefs of printed cotton made him in re- 
turn. The missionary placed a very gaudy hand- 
kerchief around the shoulders of Monze's child, 
in the form of a shawl, which awakened so much 
admiration that he said he would send for all his 
people to come and dance around it. 

One head man of a village after another 



284 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

arrived, bringing the white man liberal supplies 
of maize, ground-nuts, and corn. The same hos- 
pitality had, too, been shown all along at the vil- 
lages by which the party had passed. In con- 
versation with Monze and about one hundred and 
fifty of his men, Livingstone told them his object 
in journeying through their country was to open 
up a path for the merchandise of ivory, so they 
might avoid the guilt of selling their children. 
He asked them if they would like to have a white 
man live among them, and teach them. They 
expressed the highest satisfaction with the propo- 
sition, and promised to protect the white man 
and his property. Livingstone desired to know 
their feeling upon this question, because in any 
attempt to civilize and teach the people of this 
country it would be of the highest importance to 
have stations in this healthy region, where mis- 
sionaries might retire at times from the more 
sickly districts. It would be important, too, to 
form a chain of communications in this way be- 
tween the coast and the interior. These people 
have no special desire for Christian instruction, 
because they have no distinct idea of what it is. 
But they would gladly welcome the residence of 
white men among them, and they seem in a fa- 
vorable condition to receive the Gospel. 

The men of one village who came to the 



RAIN BIRD. 285 

encampment of the travelers wore their hair after 
the Bashukulompo fashion. A circle of hair on 
the top of the head, eight inches in diameter at 
the base, is woven something like basket-work, 
into a cone eight or ten inches high, with an ob- 
tuse apex, bent a little forward in some instances, 
so as to give it the appearance of a helmet. The 
head man of the village, instead, of having his 
brought to a point, had it prolonged into a wand, 
a yard long. Monze said this was the fashion 
among all his people ; but he discouraged it. 
Livingstone desired him to discourage the prac- 
tice of knocking out the teeth ; but he thought 
fashion was too strong for his authority in that 
case. At their departure, on Monday, Monze 
presented the travelers with a piece of buffalo, 
which had been killed the day before by lions. 

Our party now moved northward across the 
rivulet Makoe, to visit Semalembue, a chief of 
influence residing there. The villagers still sup- 
plied them with abundance of food. In passing 
through some woods upon this trip, Livingstone 
for the first time heard the cry of the bird called 
by the natives "Mokwa reza," or son-in-law of 
God. The natives say its cry is "Pula, pula" — 
rain, rain. They say it is heard only just before 
the fall of heavy rains. It is said to throw the 
eggs of the white-backed Sengal crow out of 



286 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

their nest, and lay its own instead. For this rea- 
son, and its cry for rain, this bird is a favorite 
among these people. The crow, on the other 
hand, has a bad reputation, and when there is a 
dearth of rain the people seek its nest, and de- 
stroy its eggs, to dissolve the charm, by which it 
is thought to have shut up the windows of heaven. 
From its habits, Livingstone suggests that the 
mokwa reza may be a cuckoo. * 

The country through which we are now pass- 
ing, as we follow the footsteps of the great 
missionary, is very beautiful, and furrowed with 
deep valleys. In one of these valleys — a fine 
green one, studded here and there with trees, 
and cut with rivulets — Livingstone found a buf- 
falo lying down, and attempted to kill him for 
food. But he would not die easily. After receiv- 
ing three shots, he turned round to charge his 
enemy, and Livingstone ran for shelter toward 
some rocks in the distance ; but before he reached 
tHem, he found his retreat cut off by three ele- 
phants, who had been attracted to the. scene by 
the unusual noise. In a moment or two, how- 
ever, they turned short off, and gave him a chance 
to reach the rocks. Looking out from his place 
of refuge, he saw the buffalo running away quite 
briskly. Not relishing the thought of complete 
disappointment in the supply of meat, he tried a 



ELEPHANTS. 28? 

long shot at the hindmost of the elephants, and, 
to the great joy of the men, broke his fore leg. 
The young men now cut off his retreat, and 
brought him to a stand, when a shot in the 
head dispatched him. This abundant supply of 
meat was received with demonstrations of joy, 
and many people from the villages near by came 
to participate in the feast. 

Having retired from the noise to take an ob- 
servation among some rocks, Livingstone on the 
next day saw an elephant and her calf at the end 
of the valley, about two miles away. The calf 
was finding pleasure in rolling in the mud, while 
its mother was standing quietly by, fanning her- 
self with her great ears. Looking at them 
through his glass, Livingstone saw a company of 
his men making their appearance on the other 
side of them. His man Sekwebu had told him 
the men went off that morning saying, "Our 
father will see to-day what sort of men he has 
got." Livingstone now went higher up the side 
of the hill, to get a better view of their method 
of hunting. The young elephant seemed about 
two years old. Its dam was a goodly beast. Un- 
conscious of approaching danger, they both went 
into a pit of mud, and smeared themselves all 
over. Then the calf, after having been suckled, 
frisked and played about its mother, flapping his 



288 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

ears, and tossing his trunk. The mother mean- 
time gave expression of enjoyment, by flapping 
her ears, and wagging her tail. Suddenly the 
men began blowing through a tube, making the 
piping noise which boys sometimes do by blow- 
ing in a key or between the hands. Both beasts 
expanded their ears and listened, and, as the 
crowd rushed toward them, left their bath in 
haste. The young one ran toward the end of 
the valley ; but seeing the men there, returned to 
his mother. She placed herself between the 
enemy and her calf, running sidewise for a part 
of the time. The men kept up a ceaseless pip- 
ing and shouting, and followed her at a distance 
of about a hundred yards. When she came to 
cross a rivulet, the time spent in descending one 
bank and climbing the opposite permitted their 
coming up to the edge, and within twenty yards 
of their game, so as to throw their spears into 
her. Her sides were soon red with blood, and 
she began to flee for her life, seeming to forget 
her young. She sometimes turned and made a 
charge at her pursuers ; but they dodged away at 
right-angles, and she went straight on, passing 
through the whole party without harming any 
one. But being constantly attacked with fresh ■ 
spears, she was at last killed by loss of blood. 
Sekwebu had been sent by Livingstone with \ 



ELEPHANTS, 289 

orders to spare the calf; but before he reached 
the men they had killed him. 

The elephant killed by Livingstone was a male, 
not full grown. Its hight at the withers was 
eight feet and four inches. The circumference 
of the fore foot was seven feet four inches. The 
female killed by the men was full grown, and 
measured in hight eight feet and eight inches ; 
circumference of the fore foot, eight feet. Her 
ear was four feet five inches in depth, and four 
feet in horizontal breadth. No attempt has been 
made in modern times to tame the African ele- 
phant ; but inscriptions upon ancient coins show 
they were domesticated and found very docile 
and tractable by the Romans. 

Leaving the elephant valley, and passing the 
rivulet Losito, the travelers came to the village 
of Semalembue. This chief visited them soon 
after their arrival, and presented them five or 
six baskets of meal and maize, and a huge one 
of ground-nuts ; and on the next morning he 
brought them twenty baskets more of meal. Liv- 
ingstone had but little to give him in return ; but 
he accepted very politely the apologies which 
were offered. He expressed great joy at the 
Gospel promise of peace, of which the mission- 
ary spoke. This chief obtains ivory from sur- 
rounding tribes, on pretense of possessing some 
*9 



290 



LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 



supernatural power. He exchanges this ivory 
with other chiefs on the Zambesi for cotton 
goods, which come from Mozambique by Babisa 
traders. 

Semalembue accompanied our party upon their 
departure to the ford of the Rafue River. On 
parting with him, Livingstone gave him a shirt, 
with which he was highly pleased. The supply 
of meat having run low, Livingstone shot a hip- 
popotamus — a full-grown cow. Its flesh is much 
like pork. This animal measured, four feet and 
ten inches in hight, and ten feet six inches from 
the point of the nose to the root of the tail. 

As our travelers neared the river Zam- 
besi, they found the country thickly covered 
with broad-leaved bushes. At an open space a 
herd of buffaloes came trotting up to look at the 
oxen. They were taught the propriety of retreat- 
ing only when one of their number was shot. 
Elephants had often to be driven out of the path 
by loud shouting. One day a female elephant, 
with three young ones, came charging through 
the center of the caravan, making the men throw 
down their burdens in very great haste. For 
her temerity she received a spear. The river 
was reached about eight miles east of its con- 
fluence with the Rafue. The Zambesi is much 
wider here than above the falls, at Sesheke. One 



WITH THE BUFFALOES. 29I 

might try in vain to make his voice heard across 
it. Its current is more rapid here, being often 
four and a half miles an hour, and the water is of 
a deep brownish red. 

Traveling along the banks of the Zambesi for 
many days, our party were for the most part 
treated very kindly by the villagers. In one or 
two instances, their objects being misunderstood, 
they were threatened with attacks by different 
chiefs ; but succeeded in pacifying them, so as to 
avoid all bloodshed. 

On one occasion, soon after having passed the 
confluence of the Loangwa and Zambesi, while 
moving among the trees, where the underbrush 
was very dense and high, three buffaloes, who 
thought they were surrounded by the men, dashed 
through their line. Livingstone's ox started off 
upon the gallop, and when he managed to look 
back he saw one of the men in the air about five 
feet above a buffalo. Coming back, he found the 
poor fellow had lighted on his face, and, though 
carried for twenty yards on the horns of the buf- 
falo before getting the final toss, he had not a 
bone broken or a fracture in his skin. He had 
thrown down his burden at the appearance of the 
buffalo, and stabbed him in the side. The beast 
turned suddenly upon him, and bore him away 
before he could take refuge in a tree. His 



292 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

comrades shampooned him well, and in a week 
he was able to engage in the hunt again. 

On the 2d of March the travel-worn missionary 
camped about eight miles from the Portuguese 
town of Tete, or Nyungwe. The men wished to 
go on, but Livingstone, being very much fatigued, 
lay down to rest, and sent a messenger forward 
with letters of introduction to the commandant, 
with which he had been favored by the Bishop 
of Angola and others. About two o'clock next 
morning he was awakened by two officers and a 
company of soldiers, who had been sent to escort 
him to the town. They brought the materials 
for a civilized breakfast. The food of the party 
had been exhausted, and long absence from all 
the comforts and marks of civilization had pre- 
pared Livingstone to appreciate such a meal. It 
cured his fatigue, though he had been so tired 
the night before that he could not sleep. He 
says : " It was the most refreshing breakfast I 
fcver partook of, and I walked the last eight miles 
without the least feeling of weariness, although 
the path was so rough that one of the officers 
remarked to me, 'This is enough to tear a man's 
life out of him.' " 

Arriving at Tete, he was received with much 
kindness by the commandant, Tito Augusto 
d'Araujo Sicard. He gave the men abundant 



VILLAGE OF TETE. 293 

provisions of millet, and provided them lodgings 
till they could erect huts for themselves. By 
this means they were protected from the bite of 
the tampans, here called carapators — an insect 
whose bite is quite dangerous — sometimes caus- 
ing fatal fever. "It may please our homeopathic 
friends to hear that in curing the bite of the tam- 
pan the natives administer one of the insects 
bruised in the medicine employed." Major Sicard 
urged Livingstone to remain with him till the 
following month, as the sickly season at Kilimane 
was not yet over. 

The village of Tete is built on the sloping bank 
of the river Zambesi. The strata of the gray 
sandstone beneath it have a crumpled form. The 
houses are built on the elevated fold of the rock, 
and each depression or crease forms the street. 
There are about thirty European houses, built of 
stone, and cemented with mud instead of lime. 
They are thatched with reeds and grass. The 
mud having been washed out from between the 
stones by the rains, the houses have a rough, un- 
tidy look. Besides these, there are about twelve 
hundred huts, in which the natives live. The 
population may be about four thousand, a part 
of whom are absent a considerable portion of the 
time, engaged in agricultural operations in the 
adjoining country. Gold dust is found in this 



294 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

vicinity. Some fine seams of coal were seen by 
Livingstone, and iron of a superior quality is 
abundant. Our traveler visited a hot spring, a 
little way up the river from Tete, the water of 
which has a temperature of 160 , and is too hot 
for the hand, where it flows over the stones. 

While at Tete, Livingstone inquired of Major 
Sicard if any plant was known in the country 
from which paper might be manufactured, and in 
response to the inquiry the Major showed him 
specimens of the fibrous tissue of a species of 
aloe, called conge, and of a plant called Bwaze, 
and also fibers from the root of a wild date. 
These fibers were sent to Messrs. Pye Brothers, 
of London, who, after experimenting with them, 
gave a favorable opinion of the Bwaze as a sub- 
stitute for flax, though, probably, not of much 
value for paper. 

Livingstone also found while here a very ex- 
cellent substitute for quinine, in the root bark of 
a tree called kumbanzo, which the natives use as 
a remedy for fever. The Portuguese use the bark 
of the tree. The flowers are said to be white. 
It bears pods in pairs, a foot or fifteen inches in 
length. Several other plants are employed by 
the natives in the treatment of fever. 

Having waited here a month, for the beginning 
of the healthy season at Killimane, Livingstone 



SAIL DOWN THE ZAMBESI. 295 

wished to start for that place on the 1st of April ; 
but waited a few days for the appearance of the 
moon, in order to take lunar observations on his 
way down the river. On the fourth day, how- 
ever, a new cause of delay occurred. A sud- 
den change of temperature, at the time of the 
moon's appearance, gave the Doctor, Major Sic- 
ard, and nearly every person in the house, a se- 
vere fever. Dr. Livingstone, however, soon cured 
himself and the hospitable friends whose kind- 
ness he had shared, and on the 22d he left Tete, 
for a canoe journey down the Zambesi, attended 
by Lieutenant Miranda, an escort sent by Com- 
mandant Sicard, and sixteen of his own men. 
The Commandant continued his generous hospi- 
tality by abundant provisions for the journey. 
He sent letters to his friends along the river ask- 
ing them to treat Livingstone as they would 
himself. He gave orders to Lieutenant Miranda 
not to permit his guest to pay for any thing in 
the whole journey to the coast. Livingstone 
speaks in the highest terms of Portuguese hos- 
pitality. 

A sail of five days down the magnificent Zam- 
besi brought him to Senna. This voyage was 
made in a canoe, paddled by two men, a shed 
over a part of it being provided for Livingstone. 
A few days after leaving Senna he was violently 



296 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

attacked with tertian fever. "The pulse beat 
with amazing force and felt as if thumping against 
the crown of the head." 

Fortunately he fell in with Senhor Asevedo, 
at Interra, of whose reputation for kindness and 
generosity all who ever visited Killimane have 
heard. He had a large sail-boat, with a house 
in the stern, which he at once offered for Living- 
stone's accommodation. This added greatly to 
the comfort of the sick and exhausted traveler, 
and on the 20th of May, 1856, he reached the 
village of Killimane, on the western coast of Af- 
rica. It wanted only a few days of four years 
since he made his departure from Cape Town 
upon this long, perilous, and toilsome journey 
over a wild, uncultivated country, in a hot cli- 
mate, and among savage men. And all this toil 
and hardship, endured so heroically, was under- 
taken, not for personal gain, or love of adventure, 
or advantage of any kind, but from a benevolent 
^esire to elevate and Christianize the barbarous 
and untaught tribes of Africa. But let the hero- 
missionary speak for himself: 

"As far as I am myself concerned, the opening 
of the new central country is a matter of congrat- 
ulation only in so far as it opens up a prospect 
for the elevation of the inhabitants. I view the 
end of the geographical feat as the beginning of 



A MISSION FIELD. 297 

the missionary enterprise. I take the latter term 
in its most extended signification, and include 
every effort made for the amelioration of our 
race, the promotion of all those means by which 
God in his providence is working and bringing 
all his dealings with man to a glorious consum- 
mation. Each man in his sphere, either know- 
ingly or unwittingly, is performing the will of our 
Father in heaven. Men of science searching 
after hidden truths, which, when discovered, will, 
like the electric telegraph, bind men more closely 
together — soldiers battling for the right against 
tyranny — bailors rescuing the victims of oppres- 
sion from the grasp of heartless men-stealers — 
merchants teaching the nations lessons of mutual 
dependence — and many others as well as mis- 
sionaries, all work in the same direction, and all 
efforts are overruled for one glorious end. 

"If the reader has accompanied me thus far, 
he may, perhaps, be disposed to take an interest 
in the objects I propose to myself, should God 
mercifully grant me the honor of doing some- 
thing more for Africa. As the highlands on the 
borders of the central basin are comparatively 
healthy, the first object seems to be to secure a 
permanent path thither, in order that Europeans 
may pass quickly as possible through the un- 
healthy region near the coast. The river has 



298 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

not been surveyed, but at the time I came down 
there was abundance of water for a large vessel, 
and this continues through four or five months 
of each year. . . . When we get beyond the 
hostile population" — near the coast — "we reach a 
very different race. On the latter my chief hopes 
at present rest. All of them, however, are will- 
ing and anxious to engage in trade, and, while 
eager for this, none of them have ever been en- 
couraged to cultivate the raw materials of com- 
merce. Their country is well adapted for cotton. 
. . . We ought to encourage the Africans to 
cultivate for our markets, as the most effectual 
means, next to the Gospel, of their elevation. 

"It is in the hope of working out this idea that 
I propose the formation of stations on the Zam- 
besi beyond the Portuguese territory, but having 
communication through them with the coast. A 
chain of stations admitting of easy and speedy 
intercourse, such as might be formed along the 
lank of the eastern ridge, would be in favorable 
position for carrying out the objects in view. 
The London Missionary Society has resolved to 
have a station among the Makololo on the north 
bank, and another on the south bank among the 
Matabele. The Church — Wesleyan, Baptist, and 
that most energetic body, the Free Church — 
could each find desirable locations among the 



SEKWEBU. 299 

Batoka and adjacent tribes. The country is so 
extensive, there is no fear of clashing. All 
classes of Christians find that sectarian rancor 
dies out when they are working for the real hea- 
then." 

Livingstone left his friends at Kilimane on the 
1 2th of July, taking Sekwebu with him. As they 
rode out to the brig " Frolic," on which they were 
to sail for England, the waves were high, and 
often swept over the boat. Sekwebu was much 
frightened, as these fearful waves came dashing 
over them, and said to Livingstone, "Is this the 
way you go? Is this the way you go?" "Yes, 
do n't you see it is," said Livingstone smiling, and 
then he tried to encourage him. He was well 
acquainted with canoes, but had never seen any 
thing like this. 

On the 1 2th of August they reached the Mau- 
ritius, and were towed into the harbor by a 
steamer. Sekwebu became a great favorite with 
the officers and men on board the brig. Every 
thing was so strange to him on a man-of-war that 
he seemed bewildered, and at last the constant 
excitement produced insanity. He went down 
the side of the brig into a boat, and when Liv- 
ingstone attempted to go down to bring him up 
he ran to the stern, and said " No ! no ! it is 
enough that I die alone. You must not perish. 



300 LIVINGSTONE IN AFRICA. 

If you come, I shall throw myself into the wa- 
ter." Observing that he was, not in his right 
mind, Livingstone said to him, " Now, Sekwebu, 
we are going to ma-Robert." This touched a 
tender chord in his bosom, and, seeming to re- 
cover his reason, he said, " O, yes ! where is she ? 
and where is Robert?" 

The officers of the brig proposed to secure 
him, by putting him in irons ; but Livingstone 
refused his consent, knowing that the insane 
often remember the ill-treatment they have re- 
ceived after recovery ; and as Sekwebu was a 
gentleman in his own country, Livingstone could 
not think of having it reported there that he had 
put one of Sekeletu's principal men in chains, as 
only slaves were treated in that country. 

He tried to get Sekwebu on shore during the 
day, but he refused to go, and in the evening a 
new paroxysm of insanity came on. He at- 
tempted to spear one of the crew, and then 
leaped overboard. He could swim well ; but he 
pulled himself down by the chain-cable, hand 
over hand, and his body was never found. Mak- 
ing his voyage by the way of the Red Sea, Liv- 
ingstone reached his loved native land, "Old 
England," on the 12th of December, A. D. 1856, 
after an absence of sixteen years,' and a separa- 
tion from his family of nearly five years. 



RETURN TO AFRICA. 3OI 

Subsequently he returned to Africa, to con- 
tinue his labors for the elevation and Christian 
instruction of her benighted tribes. 



THE END. 



PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, 

STEW "SrODEtlC. 



NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION 

TO THE ZAMBESI AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, 

And of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa. 1858 — 1864. 

By David and Charles Livingstone. 

Large octavo volume, 638 pages, illustrated with numerous 
Engravings and Maps. 

Price, $4 5° 



MISSIONARY TEA VELS AND RESEARCHES 
IN SOUTH AFRICA. 

Including a Sketch of sixteen years' residence in the interior 
of Africa, and a journey from the Cape of Good Hope to 
Loanda on the West Coast ; thence across the Continent 
down the River Zambesi, to the Eastern Ocean. 

By David Livingstone, LL. D., D. C. L. 

Large octavo, 755 pages, illustrated with numerous Engravings 
and Maps. 



$S 00 



HITCHCOCK & WALDEN, 
Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis. 



